A/N: Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter up - I had a terrifying drive back to school on Sunday and I've been busy with performing and what not ... 3 weeks til I'm home again for Christmas, and hopefully by then my posting frequency will increase! I've got Friday off though, so I'll see what I can do lol... enjoy and, as always review please! :-)

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own any of the Twilight stuff - just having fun with her characters.

Chapter Five

I awoke the next morning to find that Edward was still lying beside me.

"Good morning, love," he smiled, kissing me lightly on the forehead.

"This is so wrong," I sighed, grabbing my shower stuff and heading into the bathroom.

"I'll see you at school," he whispered, disappearing through my window.

I got ready for school as quickly as I could, everything a blur. Now that exhaustion played a significantly smaller role in my thought processes, I was overcome with guilt from the previous evening. Allowing Edward to stay had been a horrible mistake. It didn't matter that feelings for him still raged inside me; it wasn't fair to any of us to let him go on thinking he had a chance.

I pulled into the parking lot to find Jessica standing in the middle of the only free parking space left in the lot, looking around expectantly. She spied my truck, flagged me down, and ushered me into the parking space.

"We have to talk!" she gushed as I extracted myself from my truck; the space was actually a little small, since the cars on either side had parked dangerously close to the lines. I had to open my door a few inches and carefully slide out so as not to dent the car next to me.

"About?" I asked with a sigh, gathering my books and heading toward my first class.

"Um, Edward of course!" she squealed.

"Again? I thought we covered that pretty well yesterday. I'm with Jake now."

"Oh Bella, don't be ridiculous… look at the way he looks at you!" she cooed.

I spun around, scanning the crowd; he wasn't hard to spot. He stood near the edge of building four, watching me carefully. Oh for the love of…

"I'm with Jake," I said firmly, stomping off to class. Jessica let me go, but Edward quickly fell into the empty space beside me and followed me to class.

"Now, I must admit I'm a little confused," he began, putting an arm gently around my waist.

"What are you confused about?" I asked, refusing to look at him or even physically acknowledge that there was someone beside me.

"Well, after last night," he began, but I cut him off.

"Forget it. It was a weak moment; I was exhausted, and stressed, and you were there," I explained.

"Jacob could just as easily have been there if you wanted someone," he countered, holding open the classroom door for me.

"I made a mistake," I sighed, plopping down into my seat.

"I don't think so," he replied, settling himself down beside me. "Your heart races every time I'm anywhere near you. Your heart skips a beat every time I touch you, or even speak," he said, placing a few fingers lightly over my heart. "And don't deny it – I can hear it."

"Just because my physical reaction hasn't changed, that doesn't mean I can't have changed my mind," I stated, brushing his arm away.

"True," he agreed, "but I don't think you have."

"Jake and I are happy," I whispered at him; the teacher had just entered the room, wheeling in a TV and the noise in the class had died down significantly.

"I can't imagine that you're as happy with him as you ever were with me," he whispered back. "And I can't leave you alone. I'll be here – waiting, protecting you – every second until you realize that you want me, too. And I'll keep trying; I'm sorry if that's not fair to Jacob, but he took you away from me and I want you back… I don't intend to fight fair to get you back, either."

"He didn't take me from you – you left." I said quietly.

"Leaving was my mistake, but he shouldn't have moved in while I was gone," he said, his eyes flashing angrily.

"He fixed me. You have no idea what it was like when you left."

"Trust me, I do – I've seen it through every pair of eyes but your own. There's no excuse for the pain I put you through, but we're meant to be, and he knows that – it's only a matter of time before you see it too," he whispered.

"Hmmphh." I made a disgruntled noise then laid my head down on my arms and stared straight ahead at the movie.

"I'll always be here," he promised, and settled in to watch the movie as well.

The period reminded me of one of our very first biology classes together. We both sat in silence, but the electricity that flowed between us was almost tangible. By the end of the period I was stiff from sitting so tensely, and Edward laughed at me when I stood and began to stretch.

"I won't make you talk to me in any more classes this morning," he promised, "but please sit with us at lunch; Alice misses you terribly and didn't even get to speak to you at all yesterday with all the commotion."

"Fine," I agreed as we walked out the classroom door.

I gestured that he should proceed to class before me; he chuckled and then walked off to class more gracefully than should be possible. I grumbled following in his wake, managing to trip over my own two feet multiple times on the way there.

After our second period class, Mike caught my arm and grabbed my books.

"Let me carry these," he offered.

"Oh, um, thanks," was all I managed to reply.

"So you and Cullen," he began, trying to sound innocent. "So, that's over then?"

"Yeah, we're not getting back together," I sighed. I was so sure that Jessica would spread the word for me; did Mike really need to come confirm the fact for himself?

"That's too bad," he sighed, voice full of fake sympathy. "But does that mean that this Friday, maybe you and I could…?"

"I'm with Jake," I said incredulously. How had he missed that part of the story?

"Oh, well, I heard something about that, but didn't think it was really that serious. After all, he's a lot younger than us, and well I thought maybe he was just some kind of rebound," Mike said with a shrug.

"He's not a rebound," I assured him. "I'm going to be late for class, I should go," I said coldly, grabbing my books out of his hands and heading into my next class. Would it ever sink in that nothing between Mike and I would ever happen?

"So that's why you were laughing," I grumbled, sinking down into my seat that was once again located directly next to Edward.

"Sorry; as much as I hate him, his antics still amuse me," Edward admitted with a laugh.

I tried to pay attention through my next few classes, but it was difficult. As happy as I was at the prospect of seeing Alice once more, I couldn't help but tense up at the thought of eating with Edward, too. I couldn't ever imagine myself getting over Edward, but surely the only way to even attempt such a feat was to keep my distance; unfortunately, separation just wasn't possible with the way my life was going.

I walked into the cafeteria to see Alice, Edward, and Jasper seated at their usual table with four trays of food; Edward already bought me something. He waved me over and I pulled my chair as close to Alice and as far from him as I could get.

"Bella I've missed you!" she cried, hugging me close.

"I missed you too," I said with a smile.

"You must be hungry; here, between these four trays, you can create any combination of food you could possibly want," she said grinning.

"I think I'll take that bagel then, Jasper," I said with a laugh, snatching it off his tray. He didn't return my smile. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, well he's a little on edge about seeing you after what happened," Alice explained. "This is the first time we've seen you since then, more or less."

"Ah," I mused. "Please don't be upset; I'm not. And besides," I laughed, "if you keep this up you're going to kill the moral of the entire cafeteria."

He couldn't help but smile. "It's good to have you back," he replied.

"Bella we need to go shopping," Alice whined, ignoring the exchange between Jasper and I.

"Oh, now that's not really necessary," I argued, taking a bite of my bagel.

"Well sure it is. I just picked your dress last year, but this year I want you to actually come shopping and try stuff on. Just shoving a dress on you takes away so much of the fun!" she said and turned to pull something out of her purse. It was stacks of every issue of Cosmo for the past four years.

"Seriously?" I asked, flipping through the pages of one of them.

"We can start with these," she said. "I have every issue ever made in my closet. However, you will be trying dresses on, I can promise you that."

I sighed. "And you definitely see me trying these dresses on, and attending the Senior Ball?"

"Yes," she said firmly with a nod.

"But Edward made me go to the prom last spring!" I argued. "You never said anything about the Senior Ball being a right of passage as well," I said, elbowing Edward lightly in the ribs.

He chuckled, and said "you really shouldn't miss out on any experiences Bella." I realized his arm was wresting lightly on the back of my chair, and my stomach flipped over. We really couldn't just be friends, could we?

"Calm down, Bella," Alice said wide-eyed. "You sound like you're having a heart attack!"

"Sorry," I mumbled, flushing crimson.

"I know Alice," Edward hissed quietly. "It's under control!"

"What? What did I miss?" I asked. "What did you see Alice?"

"Oh, nothing important," she lied, playing with the salad on her tray with her fork.

"Fine. I'm sure I'll find out eventually," I mumbled.

"Yes you will," she agreed, and Edward reached across the table and smacked her upside the head.

"Hey!" she cried, standing and reaching to hit him back.

"Surprised you didn't see that one coming," he grinned, and leaned his chair back on two legs and out of her reach.

"I'll get you later," she promised, and sat back down.

"I wish Stanley's thoughts weren't so loud," Edward complained, turning and glaring in Jessica's direction.

"What's she thinking?" I asked, turning as well.

"Nothing of any importance… it's just a little annoying," he admitted. "Hearing my name shouted in someone's head over and over gets old." I raised one eyebrow quizzically. "Well, if you must know," he sighed, "she's debating her chances with me, since you and I are no longer an item. She thinks you may have warmed me up to 'Forks girls' and maybe now she has a shot."

"Can I be there when she asks you out?" I asked excitedly, to which he glared. "It's the least you can do, really, since you tortured me with prom invites last year."

"She won't ask you," Alice retorted confidently. "She'll get up to walk over here multiple times and chicken out. She'll never actually get the question out."

"Darn," I sighed, and returned to my bagel.

"Oh wait Bella, here she comes," Edward said with a grin. We all turned in her direction as she stood up, smoothed her hair and skirt, and began strutting confidently across the cafeteria.

"Dazzle her," I suggested to Edward quietly. He grinned at me, then turned and unleashed his power on Jessica. She froze in place, a terrified expression crossed her face, and she scurried back to her seat.

"You've got to admit she's got guts," Jasper commented, "to attempt to come ask Edward out in front of Bella?"

"Why did she run away?" I asked confused. "Did you scare her? I told you to dazzle her!"

"Oh, I dazzled her," he said with a wicked grin. "As soon as I smiled at her, she thought, 'What the hell am I doing? That's Edward Cullen!! He would never agree to date me, especially not in front of Bella!' and she ran back to her seat."

"Ah, well… valiant effort," Alice sighed. "She'll try three more times before she gives up. The next time will be right before sixth period starts."

"It's good to have a solid time frame on these things," Edward said with a laugh.

Lunch was significantly less awkward than I had anticipated. Sitting and laughing with the Cullens with no pressure was so far beyond what I expected of our relationship. I didn't think Edward and I could be "just friends" but lunch had me hopeful that maybe I was wrong.

The rest of the day passed without much incident. Jessica did make her other three attempts just as Alice had predicted, the final time getting right up next to Edward and stuttering for 30 seconds before running away.

Edward walked me out to my truck after our last class; since we still had every class together, we figured there was no point in trying to ignore each other. He certainly wasn't going to ignore me, and it would waste so much time and energy for me to try and ignore him. Once again, sitting on his bike at the back of my truck was Jake.

"See you later," Edward said quietly, and for once didn't try to push Jake's buttons. I was extremely grateful.

"Hey," Jake said as I approached, and wrapped his arms around me. "I thought we could just watch TV and do our homework today."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. He tossed his bike in the back of my truck and hopped in the passenger seat. We went back to my house, grabbed a snack, and settled ourselves in the living room.

After about an hour, I was finished with my homework and Jake was transfixed on whatever TV show happened to be on; I had no idea since I didn't do much TV watching.

"Are you planning to start your homework anytime soon?" I teased.

"I don't have any," he said quietly, never looking away from the TV.

"Ugh, lucky you," I sighed. "You have been going right? Not just running around hunting for… her?"

"Well, no, if you must know… I haven't been to school in a while," he admitted. "I'll go back eventually; this is just much more important right now."

"Are you any closer to finding her, do you think?" I asked with a sigh.

"We don't know, she's been very elusive."

A shiver ran down my spine, and Jake wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. I snuggled into his shoulder and turned my attention to the TV. It was some sort of car repair show; something I could never really be interested in. Instead, my mind wandered, wondering where Victoria was, what she was doing, where Edward was….

I internally scolded myself, and tried once more to watch the TV show. Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll be right back," I said to Jake, standing and making my way to the front door.

"Wait!" he said sharply, grabbing my arm. "It's a vampire! Be careful; it smells like one of the Cullens, but I can't be sure."

"It's just me," I heard Edward's voice call through the door. My heart skipped a beat. "I heard that," he said with a chuckle.

Jacob scowled, and I wasn't sure whether Edward was referring to my heart or something Jake had been thinking; maybe it was both.

I flung the door open and stood back. "What's up Edward?" I asked, and Jake wrapped an arm around my waist.

"How can we help you?" he added with a little less civility than I would've liked.

"We need to talk," he said, focusing on Jake.

"About?" Jake asked defiantly.

"Victoria," Edward replied. "We just caught wind of her, but couldn't chase her onto your territory. We need to come to some sort of pact with your pack."

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! a little more humorous than the others so far... I'll try to get the next one up soon, and remember - the more reviews I receive, the more motivated I am to post the next chapter! :-)