A/N: I can read your mind right now as you view this update in your inbox. "Oh. New chapter from Anarchyforherchaos. I thought she abandoned all of her stories forever ago. Well, let's see if she's still got it." **clicks link** How'd I do lol. So, there's a pretty good split of those who like that Bella has had prior relationship experience, and those who want only BxE from start to finish; I can respect that. I feel like for Canon Bella, it was realistic that she had no experience, and that she and Edward were fated to be together. However, for this version of ExB, who didn't know each other prior to becoming neighbors, it felt more realistic that they she had to find a couple of bad eggs to recognize the golden egg that is Edward IMO.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. All creative credit goes to Stephenie Meyer for creating this little universe that I like to meddle in. ;D

Chapter 3:

Previously on Lonely Neighbor - The Bad Luck Bella Saga:

For a moment, I stood there completely frozen, watching him go to town in this chick's vag.

And then my mouth began functioning before anything, and I screeched "What the fuck is this shit!"

Thankfully, all motion on that god forsaken bed came to a standstill, and Tyler removed his dick from his ex girlfriend.

Unfortunately, I was not spared the mental image of Ty stuffing his half hard on back into his pants, before my legs caught up with my mouth and I bolted from the room.

BELLA

Six Months and Eleven Days Ago (AKA Before Edward)

As the bedroom door slammed shut in my wake, I noticed the people that had been lounging in the hallway were all silent and gaping. Cheeks burning in a toxic mix of humiliation and white hot rage, I shoved past the drunken party goers, making my way towards the stairs.

I had made it down one flight of stairs before my name was shouted from behind. I hastened my descent, weaving through the crowd gathered on the staircase, nearly making it all the way down before my high heeled foot caught a run in the carpet. I lurched forward with my arms windmilling while I grabbed for the banister to steady myself.

As I paused at the bottom step, grateful for not breaking my neck, a strong hand wrapped itself around my wrist.

"Bella! Babe, come on, we can talk about this" Tyler pleaded, breathing harshly in my ear.

My entire body stiffened as I tamped down both the urge to beat the piss out of him, and the hot tears pressing behind my eyes.

Shaking out of his hold, I turned to face him. The look I pinned him with caused him to take a step back. Measuring my voice, ever cognizant of our audience, I spoke with an even voice that surprised me.

"Don't you dare fucking touch me. Not while you smell like skank." Watching the color drain from Tyler's face was only mildly satisfying. "I can't trust myself right now not to hurt you, so just… let me go, Ty."

For a split second, a mutinous expression stained his features, but his hand dropped down to his side.

And I ran.

I ran, not out of fear of a scene or of my him, but because if I stayed, he would have seen me cry. And that cheating bastard did not have the privilege to witness my vulnerability. Not anymore.

Once outside, I made a beeline for my dorm. Walking at a fast clip, I managed to make it home in less than 15 minutes, fighting tears the whole way. But as I stood in the doorway of Hansee Hall, I realized that none of my shit was in my room. In fact, it wasn't even my room anymore as of yesterday. All of my belongings were in the guest bedroom of Angela and Ben's apartment, packed up and ready for the impending move.

So I ordered an Uber, and sat shivering in the fifty three degree weather for twenty minutes, at one in the morning.

~~~~{}~~~~

At Angie and Ben's, I let myself in quietly, removing my heels and tiptoeing to my temporary room. In that dark room, brimming with packed boxes and stuffed garbage bags, I stripped off my pretty top and skinny jeans. I let my hair down from the sleek top knot, threw on a big T-shirt, crawled under the cool sheets, and cried myself to sleep.

~~~~{}~~~~

The next morning, as I rolled into a stretch, I became aware of two things; I was suffering from one of the worst hangovers ever, and there was someone in bed with me.

With no little difficulty, I sat up in that double bed to see Angela buried under the covers with me. Confused and bleary eyed, I stared at my sleeping bestie for a moment before poking her cheek gently.

As if on guard, Ang popped up, her eyes alert and her brow furrowed. Without a single word spoken, she pulled me into a gentle hug, sighing deeply over my shoulder. After a few seconds, she pulled away but hung onto my upper arms.

"You want to tell me what happened last night?" She asked with an eyebrow cocked. When I didn't immediately respond, she said, "I peeked in around three this morning to make sure you made it back okay, and your face was red and blotchy, mascara everywhere…"

And then memories from the night before began pouring in.

The going away party for Ty and me…

Tyler going MIA and my ensuing search…

Tyler Cocksucker Crowley and Katie Motherfucking Marshall -

Nope!

Ang stared at my face, looking for clues and hidden meaning. Something that she'd always been great at, and the reason she's working on her PhD in Psychology.

Her eyes softened from her fierce determination. Without any prompting from me, she stated with a heavy sigh, "You guys broke up."

And that simple statement caused the dam to shatter. The tears began in earnest accompanied by ugly sobbing and hiccups.

My crying jag took a full hour to subside, Angela letting me soak her shirt the whole time.

"Aww BB, it'll be okay." She whispered into the top of my head. "If any couple can patch things up, it's you two." She said.

Angela Cheney (née Weber): Terminal Optimist.

I barked out a bitter laugh, because she didn't know, and I was about to burst her little optimistic bubble.

Shaking my head, I stated firmly "Ang, I don't want to 'patch things up'. Tyler's been cheating on me."

Angela pulled back, leaning away from me to see my face. Disbelief was in the pinch of her brows. "Are you sure, Bella? I mean not every guy is Connor, you know. Maybe there was a misun-" Her voice trailed off at the wild expression on my face that I was unable to stop.

My neck backed up to my shoulders, because she'd brought up The Ex Who Shall Not Be Named. "Ang, I'm aware that not every guy is predisposed to be a cheater, but I am positive that this guy is! You weren't there last night -thank God. You didn't walk in on him bumping uglies with Katie Motherfucking Marshall." I paused, taking in a deep breath. When I felt a tad bit more rational, I continued, "So no. I don't want to "patch things up" with him."

For once, Angela didn't have a nice adage bandage to slap onto my emotional boo boo. She stared at me, slack jawed and utterly silent. Her silence was preferred, because I was not in the right frame of mind to hear a pep talk.

So we sat together on her childhood bed, absorbing the loss of my first adult relationship.

~~~~{}~~~~

As we both gathered our thoughts, struggling for the right words to put this atrocious event into perspective, a reluctant knock sounded at the door.

We exchanged a look. A silent conversation we've had for a decade.

Angie's eyes asked "Are you ready to face the outside world right now? 'Cuz I can tell Ben to take a hike. In a kind and considerate way, of course."

I telegraphed back with a shrug, "Yeah… I guess."

"Come on in, babe." Angela called out.

Slowly, the door swung open, stopping halfway. The top of Ben's head popped around the corner, partially blocked by boxes. The rest of his body followed a few seconds later, the door clicking shut behind him.

He stepped fully into the room, looking distinctly uncomfortable. His blue eyes swept over first my face, then Angela's, then to the wall above our heads where they stayed. A hand came up to ruffle the hair at the back of his neck, followed by the rough clearing of his throat.

"Um… mornin' Bella. There's ahhhh… you have a visitor, but I'm not sure if they're welcome." Ben said, eyes drifting down to the vicinity of my forehead.

My mind traveled at breakneck speed from confusion to clarity, but I asked anyway.

"Who is it?"

It was only then that he met my eyes, his dogged protectiveness shining through.

"It's Tyler."

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A/N: Hey! Anybody out there? **Waves frantically to the three people who still wait for the chapter that never came**

So… I'm not even going to pretend to have an excuse, y'all. My absence was just plain laziness lol. What can I say, though, I'm on summer vacation ;) I made this chapter extra long just for mah lovelies!

If you're still loitering, please type some words in the little review box for me. Did you love/hate this chapter? Are you still interested?

XOXO Anarchy 3