Title: Seven Minutes in Heaven
Author: Readingmama/Vampiremama
Beta: AcrossTheSkyInStars

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Continuity: AH/AU
Rating: M

Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.

Chapter 7

There was something very wrong with Bella. She acknowledged this as she sat outside in the car alone. She had excused herself, telling Sam she wasn't feeling well, but the truth was, she was scared shitless. Seeing Edward again had made what she felt for Sam feel like nothing more than what she felt for Kate, friendship. She had forgotten what real butterflies felt like and this new onslaught of them made her want to puke.

She had been right about Edward though, he was different. She could see it immediately. Gone was the unsure boy and in his place stood a very confident man. He owned the stage and his appeal, winking at the girls in the front row as he sang. His hair was still the same messy mop of copper it had always been but the rest of him had gone through a major transformation. His arms, toned and strong, supported several tattoos, although Bella couldn't really tell what of from her seat, and his chest, hidden by a tight black t-shirt with a low dipping V, was just as taught. His face was more mature and angular, a strong chin and defined cheekbones. His eyes held knowledge that Bella could only guess where it came from.

It wasn't all these things that made Bella run for fresh air, but it was what he was singing about. Sex and desire, giving in to the carnal lust; it was against everything he ever told Bella. It confused her because instead of making her feel like the dirty teenager she once was, it made her want to run up on stage and say fuck it, and take what she wanted.

It wasn't until Sam had leaned over and asked if she was alright that she snapped out of her haze and made her hasty exit. Sam had offered to drive her home but she declined, just telling him she needed a few minutes of air. He unwillingly let her go alone after she insisted but she could tell he wasn't pleased. And why would he be? She invited him only to ditch him five minutes after he arrived.

She should have gone home and forgotten the whole night ever happened, but she couldn't. The thought that she would get one more glimpse of him, she had to wait and see. He was totally out of her league, that had always been the case, but it was clear with all his adoring fans that now he would see it. So, Bella sat in the car and told herself about all the ways it wouldn't work; they didn't want the same things anymore, Edward was obviously a ladies man, he was ridiculously hot and there was no way Bella would be able to satisfy a man who looked like that. Maybe she once thought she knew more about sex than Edward, but she was long out of practice and she doubted that being with Edward would be like riding a bicycle.

"This is stupid, Bella," she chastised herself. "You have a great guy waiting for you in there. Go be with him."

Bella willed herself out of the car, still not wanting to move in the least. She started for the door but then derailed when two girls smoking just in front of it started laughing and talking about Edward. She found herself ducking into the alley between the club and the dry cleaners next door.

She leaned against the wall and banged her head three times on the wall behind her as she muttered, "Pull yourself together."

"Excuse me?" a voice replied and Bella squeaked.

Her eyes darted around the alley, the small light above the side door only giving off a dim light. A figured stepped out from behind the dumpster, and Bella knew before he hit the light it was Edward.

"Nothing," she mumbled and looked down, letting her hair come to hide her face. She hoped he wouldn't recognize her. That she could prove to herself that she didn't mean to him what he meant to her. Then she would have real closure and be able to move on.

"Bella? Bella Swan?"

"Ah, fuck," she blurted.

Edward laughed, "It is you, I'd know that fuck anywhere." He reached for her and pulled her off the wall, giving her a hug that felt warm and familiar.

"Hi, Edward," she replied, finding her voice, her arms awkwardly returning his embrace. "You look good, how have you been?"

"Can't complain," he answered and shook his head. "I can't believe it's you. I knew you might still be in the area but I had no idea I'd run into you on tour."

"Yeah." Bella shifted a bit uncomfortably. "This is sort of my hang out place. You guys sound really good. You seem to have a lot of fans already."

"If I can count you among them, then I have my favorite fan." He smiled charmingly.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Bella replied, trying to hide the thunderous thumping of her heart.

"Well, yeah, marketing and all, but with you it's true."

Bella looked at him for a moment, stunned, and then they both burst out in laughter.

"You really have changed." Bella reached out and brushed her fingers over one of the tattoos on his arm, a set of musical notes.

"Not all that much," Edward said, studying her face.

"Well it was really nice to see you, I better let you get back before all those girls start to riot." Bella smiled but it did not reach her eyes.

She turned and began to walk away but Edward grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Bella?" She turned to look at him. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yes. No. Kind of," she blurted uneasily. "I just started seeing someone but it's not serious. Are you seeing anyone?"

Edward smiled. "No. Can I see you again while I'm still in town?"

Bella bristled, wondering if that was a good idea. "How long are you in town for?"

"A week," he replied.

"Hey Edward, we're on man," one of his band mates called from the side door.

"Coming," he called. He pulled out his phone and brought up his contact info, holding it out to beam to Bella's phone. She did the same, unable to think in the panic to get him back on stage.

"I'll see you soon, Bella," he said and ran to the door.

Bella stared at her phone for a few minutes, looking at his contact information staring at her. Then she slipped it in her pocket and made her way out of the alley.

"There you are," Sam said with a sigh. "I was getting worried about you and I couldn't find you."

"I'm sorry," Bella said softly, feeling uncomfortable.

"Are you ready to go back in?"

Bella nodded and Sam wrapped his arm around her. It felt heavy and foreign but she stayed under it as they went back to their table.

The easy conversation from the beginning of the night was gone and Bella spent the rest of the evening watching the band while Sam watched her.

~~7MiH~~

After the entirety of Saturday passing her by and not a word from Edward, Bella decided that his request to meet up while he was in town had been a pleasantry, which was for the best, really, because a guy who really liked her, and was living in her city, had spent the entire day calling her. She convinced herself that him asking her if she was seeing anyone was just curiosity, not interest.

She sighed as she saw Sam's number pop up once again on her cell phone. She felt bad for not answering but she didn't want to do anything rash—or frankly, stupid—until she got her feelings under control. There was no use telling Sam she couldn't see him anymore just because she'd caught a glimpse of her old love. Even though many of the feelings had rushed back to her, Bella couldn't be sure if it was fond memory or current feeling that sprouted.

The phone stopped ringing and a minute later another text message popped up.

Bella, I've been trying to get a hold of you. I was hoping we could do dinner tonight.

Bella looked at her clock and it was already six-thirty. She knew exactly what he was doing, he saw the way she looked at Edward on stage; he was floundering. Wishing she could reassure him, but knowing she couldn't quite yet, she decided to answer his text pretending to be ill.

As soon as she got his sympathetic reply to get better soon, she felt a real headache stirring. After taking several years of getting Edward out of her system, she'd only had a week of reprieve and now she wondered just how long it was going to take to forget him again.

After a nap and a shower, Bella put her pajamas back on and sat down on the couch to watch some TV, but no sooner had she flicked it on than a knock came at her door.

"Sam?" she said in surprise as she opened to find him standing on the other side, looking dressed to impress. He was in a pair of blue jeans that hugged his frame just right and a leather jacket that accentuated his broad shoulders.

"I brought soup," he said with the good sense to look bashful.

She opened the door further to let him and she sighed. "That's very sweet of you."

He placed the soup down on the coffee table before going to her kitchen to find a spoon. "I thought maybe we could watch a movie together or something," he said and then he took her in, making Bella squirm under his gaze. She knew she didn't look sick but at least she was in her pajamas.

"Uh, sure," she replied

Sam went and chose a movie from her collection, putting it in while Bella ate the soup. She usually didn't enjoy soup unless she was sick but she was going to stomach it because the gesture, although unwanted, had been incredibly nice. When she finished, Sam coaxed her to lie down, placing her head in his lap and stroking her hair.

Had she been actually sick, she would have loved the attention, but being a big fat liar, she felt her gut knot with guilt with each kind act. About halfway through the movie, Bella was about to confess when her cell phone rang. Her heart stopped and she sat up, reaching to grab it. Her face paled as she saw it was the call she had been waiting for all day.

There was no way she could answer this call in front of Sam so she silenced the ringer and very deliberately put it back down on the coffee table. Sam was too busy watching the movie to notice how stiff she was when she laid back down against him. Her eyes watched her phone long past the ding of the new voicemail. Her guilt was replaced by something else, genuine need to get Sam out of her condo so she could check that message.

The movie had felt like an eon before it was over, but once it was Bella sat up and stretched. She pretended to yawn even though she had never been more keyed up in her life.

"Thanks again for coming by, it was really nice of you," Bella said and hoped she sounded sincere.

"Feel better soon," he replied softly and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Okay," she replied with what she hoped looked like a sleepy smile. She showed him to the door and once he was finally through it, she felt her heart start pounding.

There was a moment of her body freezing, unable to move, and then like a lightning bolt she sprang into action, nearly leaping furniture to get to her phone. She picked it up and hit the voicemail button and then impatiently typed in her password and waited for message.

"You have one new message, to…" Bella hit the button and waited.

"Hey Bella, it's Edward. Give me a call when you get this."

Bella didn't even hesitate bringing up his contact information and hitting send.