Disclaimer: I do own a copy of Twilight; however, I don't own the actual rights to said book … :(
This chapter is dedicated to bemybemy392 who gave me some awesome advice for this chapter … thanks! And to Intoxicated By His Presence for going back and reviewing every chapter she hasn't reviewed! HAHA! That's amazing! :-P
Chapter 15: Road Trip
EPOV
After an impossibly long two weeks, Bella and I were talking again, even dancing but just when I thought everything would be okay between us, a slow song came on.
I awkwardly shifted and Bella looked down at the ground and started to walk off the dance floor when suddenly something came over me and I found myself pulling her towards me, "Just a friendly dance, I promise."
She looked at me and then repeated, "Friendly."
She put her arms around my neck, and I around her waist and we began to dance to the music, making small talk.
When she was in my arms, it seemed the world stopped spinning and everything else simply froze. She was beautiful and irresistible, but I had to resist. I'd pushed her too quickly last time, and I wasn't about to do that again, I'd let her come to me.
When she blushed, however; I couldn't control my urges any longer and pulled her closer to me so that she was pressed up against me. It felt so right, like she was made just for me, and for the rest of the song I was on cloud nine.
Once the music ended, and was replaced with the newest rap song, the awkwardness of the dance set in. I'd crossed the lines of friendship, again. I mentally hit myself and stepped away quickly not making eye contact.
We decided to get drinks, and were soon met with Alice and Jasper. Alice took Bella away leaving me to talk with Jasper.
"Hey man," I said to Jasper.
"Hey," he said as he took a sip of his drink. "So you're okay with Bella coming right?"
"Yea, totally," I said, leaving out the part about how I'd been secretly hoping she'd end up coming with us.
"You still like her, don't you?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.
"Yea," I said, looking down.
"Then why didn't you talk to her sooner? Fight for her?" Jasper asked.
"Because I didn't want to push her," I said simply.
"That's BS, really why?" he pushed.
"I don't want to be rejected again, that's why Jasper," I said bitterly.
"That's what I thought," he said, "Are you ever going to tell her how you really feel again?"
"Nope," I replied, "I'm letting her make the first move this time."
"She made the first move last time too, remember?" he reminded me.
"Well, yes, but it was me who ended up pushing her to her breaking point."
"You're wrong," he replied.
Just as I was about to ask what that meant, Alice and Bella returned.
"Hello," Alice said in her perky voice, "Sorry, girl talk" Alice said winking at us.
I raised my eyebrow at Bella, who wouldn't meet my eyes. "No problem."
"Jasper, want to dance again?" Alice grabbed Jasper's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor.
"So, um, when are we leaving again?" Bella asked, still looking at the floor.
"Thursday night," I replied and then grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor near Alice and Jasper.
We danced, wordlessly, for the rest of the night and before I knew it, it was 1 AM and time to head back to the dorms.
Jasper and I said our goodbyes to Alice and Bella. Jasper kissing Alice sweetly on the mouth, while Bella and I simply hugged.
Wednesday and Thursday passed quickly. They were a blur of basketball practices, school work and sleep, and soon I found myself standing with a suitcase along side Jasper, Alice and Bella, walking towards our cars.
"I think we are going to have to couple off and take two cars," Jasper said.
"Couple off?" Bella repeated, warily.
"Why?" I asked, "I have room for the four of us in my car."
"Well," Alice jumped in, "I brought a lot, and I don't think it will all fit in your trunk, plus I need to make a quick stop so we will be a little late, and I don't want to hold you up from seeing your mom."
"Ok," I said suspiciously, "Just make sure to have your cell phones so you can call if you get lost."
Jasper and Alice threw each other a quick glance, "Have them right here," Jasper said, patting his pocket.
"Okay, so I guess that means you're coming with me Bella," I paused, "That is, unless you want to ride with Jasper and Alice, I'd completely understand."
I saw Bella look between Alice and myself, "It's okay, I'll ride with you, you have better music, plus then I don't have to listen to Alice for hours ranting about shopping and the latest sales."
I suppressed my enormous smile, "Alrighty then, let's put our stuff in the trunk and we'll be on our way."
I picked up Bella's bag and put it in the trunk first, and then placed mine next to hers while Jasper did the same in his car.
I walked around to the passenger side of the car and held it open for Bella, and shut it promptly after she sat down.
"Just follow me," I said to Jasper while I opened my door and sat down.
"Ok," he replied.
After we were on the road I looked over at Bella and smiled, "Choose your poison," I said pointing to my iPod.
She scrolled through my songs, and chose one of my favorites.
"So, excited?" she asked, humming to the music.
"Very," I replied honestly, "I actually miss my parents, crazy right?"
"It's not crazy, I miss mine too."
"Yea, well it should be nice to see them, and how about you? Excited to see the old neighborhood? I talked to Emily, Matt and Danny a couple days ago, and they are all going to be there."
"Oh my gosh," her face brightened, "Really? I haven't seen them in ages! How long until we get there?"
"About two hours, well at least that is what Map Quest says," I smiled knowing I drove quite faster then what Map Quest had taken into account.
"Alright," she said, "Mind if I sleep a little? I don't want to be tired when we get there."
"No problem," I replied offhandedly. I wanted to talk to her, but I also knew she'd complain about my speeding and then it'd take longer to get to my house.
"Thanks," she said, and then closed her eyes and quickly drifted off into a sound sleep.
Whenever I got stopped at a red light I would glance over at her sleeping figure and smile, remembering the night we fell asleep together.
When the light changed to green again, I would focus my attention back on the road, and check to make sure Jasper was still behind me and hadn't gotten lost.
It was one of these times that when I looked back and saw that he was not following me.
Strange, I thought. I could have sworn he was right behind me a second ago; I pulled out my cell phone.
"Jasper?" I asked into it when he picked up.
"Yea," he said
"Where did you go?" I asked.
"Remember I told you we had to make a stop for Alice?" Jasper said.
"Oh, right, well do you know how to get to my house?"
"Yep, Map Quested it earlier, just like you," he said.
"Okay, cool, well see you later then."
"Right, see you soon." I heard Alice giggling in the background.
"What's Alice laughing about, Jasper?" I questioned.
"Oh, Alice is laughing at the radio," he said and then I heard him shushing her.
"Ok," I said, suspiciously for the second time.
"Well, see you soon Edward, got to go, Alice is telling me to turn here," Jasper said and quickly hung up.
"That was strange," I quietly muttered to myself.
"What was strange?" I heard Bella ask.
I looked over at her and saw she was awake and staring at me curiously.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" I apologized.
"No, I'm not tired anymore," Bella said, sitting up "So what's strange?"
"Jasper and Alice were just being weird on the phone, that's all." I said simply.
"Ok," Bella said then her eyes widened, "Edward Anthony Mason, how fast are we going!?"
I winced, "55?" I said innocently.
She sat up a bit and leaned over to look at the speedometer, "95! Edward slow down, you're going to get a ticket."
"No I'm not Bella, I always drive like this, plus I'm just keeping up with traffic," I said pointing to the other cars on the highway.
"You've passed at least ten cars since I've been awake, I can hardly make out the trees, they are just blurs!"
"Again, I always drive like this, trust me." I said reassuringly.
"Well not with me you wont drive like this, incase you've forgotten, my dad is a cop which makes me partial to follow the speed laws." She crossed her arms, "Plus if we crash there would be no way we'd survive."
I sighed, and slowed down to 80 miles per hour, "Better?" I asked.
"A bit," she said, obviously calming a little. "So, how far are we?"
"Another twenty minutes or so, you were out for a while," I smiled in her direction.
"Sorry," she blushed a little.
"No problem, I found ways to amuse myself anyways." I blurted out.
"Oh really?" she asked, "How so may I ask?"
"Um," I thought, "I've been playing the alphabet game." I said lamely.
"The alphabet game?" she asked.
"Yea, you know, you have to find a sign that starts with the letter of each letter in the alphabet in order."
She laughed. "What letter are you at now?"
"Um, R," I made up.
"R, hu?" she looked out the window at the signs, "There" she said excitedly, pointing to a sigh saying 'rest stop next exit.'
"Nice," I complimented.
We played the game till the end, and soon after arrived at my house.
My mom and dad ran out of the house when they heard my car pull up, and as soon as I was out of the car, Esme hugged me.
"Edward, we've missed you so much!" she hugged me tighter.
"I've missed you guys too," I said, returning her hug and then going to hug my dad.
"Hi Mrs. and Mr. Mason," Bella said shyly.
"Bella, sweetheart, is that you?" Esme said and then gave her an enormous hug also.
"Yes Mrs. Mason," Bella said politely.
"Esme, dear, call me Esme," she laughed, "It's been years since I've seen you. You've grown up nicely, and I see you've met my Edward here again, who would have thought you two would get together after all these years?"
I saw Bella's face redden and I looked down at the street while Esme continued, "I mean, your mom and I used to joke about how cute you two were, always hanging out and playing together, and that one day you'd end up together. But wow, after you moved I thought that'd never happen, I guess fate has an odd way of working out doesn't it?" she mused.
"Um, mom?" I said awkwardly, "Bella and I are just … friends."
"Friends?" she asked, incredulous, "But in your e-mail…" she drifted off.
"We are just friends," I repeated again, thinking if I said it again maybe I'd believe it to.
"Oh, well, I'm sorry for assuming Bella dear," she said apologizing to a red-faced Bella. "It's just that Edward never brings any girls home, so I just assumed this was something serious." Esme paused, "Carlisle will you help me bring their bags in?"
"Sure sweetie," Carlisle replied and picked up Bella's bag.
"Oh, I can get that, really," Bella said, moving to help my dad.
"No you don't, you and Edward go walk around the neighborhood a bit, I think Emily is home if you want to go visit her," Esme said, as she walked into the house with my bag.
"I'm sorry," I said as soon as my parents closed the front door, leaving Bella and me standing alone on the driveway.
"It's fine," Bella said, looking down.
"I don't know where she got the idea that we were dating," I continued.
"Really, it's fine," Bella shifted uncomfortably.
"I mean, the idea of us in a steady relationship-" I was ranting at this point, something I do when I am in awkward positions, luckily Bella interrupted me.
"Edward, really, it's fine. It's cleared up now, so let's go see Emily!" she said enthusiastically, and for the first time since she got to my house, looked up at me.
Her face still had remnants of its previous red color, and she wouldn't meet my eyes, but I knew she was over the uncomfortable moment, and I decided I would be too.
"Alright then," I said walking next to Bella towards Emily's house.
"So, where are Jasper and Alice?" Bella asked as we walked.
"I'm not exactly sure," I responded, "They turned about twenty minutes before we got here, right when you woke up actually, they didn't say when they'd get here."
"Should we call them?" Bella asked.
"I guess," I said and dialed Jasper's number.
After five rings, it went to his voicemail, "Hey you've reached Jasper's cell phone, not here right now so leave a message at the beep"
"Hey Jasper," I said, "Bella and I just got to my house, and we're wondering where you and Alice are. Call me back." I then hung up the phone, "He didn't answer." I shrugged.
"Here, I'll call Alice," Bella said pulling out her phone. "It's ringing," she informed me, and then she frowned and mouthed 'voicemail'. "Hey Alice, it's Bella, call me back when you get this! Love you,"
My eyes widened for a second when I heard Bella say 'love you,' until I realized it wasn't meant for me, but for Alice. "Didn't pick up either?" I asked, a little shaken.
"Nope, that's weird; Alice always has her cell with her." Bella paused thinking, "I hope they are okay."
"I'm sure they are," I said reassuringly, "We'll call later tonight if they still aren't here. They are probably just out of range or something."
"Probably," Bella agreed.
"Well, we are here!" I said as we stood in front of Emily's house.
A/N: This is the first of probably three or four chapters that will take place at Edward's house! I'm really excited for each of these! :-) But I know the majority of you are anxious for Bella and Edward to get together again, and I am too – but I'm trying to keep it a little realistic, and don't want to rush anything! I hate those fanfics where they say "I love you" in the first chapter and rush into everything! But I won't drag it out any longer then it needs to be either! Please review, I want to get 1000 reviews SO badly, and I know this is unlikely, but if I could get passed 1000 from this chapter, I'd be SOOOOO happy! So please help make that happen and click that little review button!