Hey guys. I've got a new story going on right now, but it's not really a story. (Yet.) You should totally r&r. It's called Waiting in the Wings. And I have big plans for it. C;

Chapter six

When I looked at myself in the mirror, my first thought was, who IS that? She looked confident, like nothing could bring her down. Everything I didn't, actually. But then, I thought, why am I like this? It's just Edward. Not like he hasn't seen me in a bathing suit before. I shrugged it off, and then went through the living area into the pool hall.

The room was different from all the rest. It had huge glass windows, and it was well light. It was a fairly large rectangular pool, with clean, clear, blue water. A diving board was situated at the further end, which was currently occupied with Edward. Given that, I figured it was maybe eight or nine feet deep over there. I put down my towel on a plastic pool chair and walked timidly over onto the tile that lined the pool. I didn't get in yet, because I wanted to take it in all at once, without having to get used to it.

SPLASH.

Edward had finally jumped off the board, and when he surfaced about five seconds later, he shouted my name. "Took you long enough!"

"I'm here now, though."

"Get in, then!"

I shook my head, and then explained to him that if I got in now, I would get all cold and stuff. Easier to take it all in at once.

He sighed dramatically and swam over to me and said, "Help me out, then."

I looked at his suspicious looking arm, and then I grabbed it, and yanked on it. He didn't seem to be trying to come out, and then he smiled mischievously.

Oh, Snap.

He pulled on my arm, and sent me flying into the water, screaming. Why couldn't I have been heavier? Or at least, Edward didn't have to be so strong.

SPLASH.

My body hit the water, hard. It was warmer than I had expected, and my body was covered in little bubbles that tickled. I floated downwards until I hit the bottom, then kicked off and resurfaced, sputtering.

"You… I… ARGh."

I splashed Edward – who was laughing at me – out of frustration. Which, of course, only made him laugh harder.

I swam over to him and smacked his arm, and then he started laughing again. When I looked at him with a glare in my eye, he struggled to compose himself and said, "I mean… OW. Bella." He snickered, "That hurt."

We held each others eyes, and then we started laughing for the millionth time today. "We can't all be freakishly anti-pain."

We continued to splash around, diving off of the diving board into the deep end and just basically doing what best friends do together.

A couple of hours later, we were in the kitchen, getting a bite to eat.

"You want a smoothie?"

I nodded, and then said, "I'll be right back. Answer my phone if it rings, 'Kay?" He nodded, and opened up the little mini-fridge/freezer and started shuffling through it.

I turned to the restroom, and shut the door behind me. Suddenly, I heard through the door that my phone had started ringing, playing a recording of She's My Ride Home by Blue October. Jessica's ring tone.

CRAP. Jessica had had a mondo crush on Edward since Kindergarten. And if he answered my phone, I shuddered to think at what might come out of her mouth. "Edward – DON'T ANSWER IT!"

Even as I shouted through the door, I knew that it was too late.

"Hello, this is Bella's phone, how may I help you?"

I wrenched the door open, and then said, "Give me my phone!"

Normally, I'm sure he would have, but somebody was talking to him.

"No… this is Edward Cullen. Do you wanna talk to Bella?"

I winced. This would so not be good. I held my hand out reluctantly, and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Bella."

I winced again. "Hi, Jessica."

"So you and Edward, then."

"Jess, no, it isn't –"

"Whatever, Bella."

I knew this was coming, but still, it stung to hear how little faith she had in me.

"Jessica!"

"Just shut it, okay? I don't want to hear it."

"No, I won't shut it! I won't, not until you hear me out!"

Through the phone, I could hear her scoffing. "Amaze me, then."

I took a deep breath, then made my way over to the sofa and sat down.

"Jess, first of all, you have to know Edward and I are just friends, right?"

There was the sound of a blender turning on, and Edward coughed.

"Yeah, and I used to believe you. But you're with him?"

"And that's a problem?" I mean, come on. I hung out with him all the time at school. She chooses now to complain?

"But outside of school?"

"Yeah, so? You know I've been over here before."

"Alice has been there."

"Alice? What does she have to do with this?"

Silence.

"Oh, I understand. You think I'm so shallow that I would wait until I got him alone to make a move? Jessica, did you hit your head or something, so hard that it altered your brain?"

And I hung up.

I looked at my phone and then chucked it across the room.

"Wow, Bella, somebody has a bit of a temper problem."

Edward was somehow sitting on the couch beside me, and handed my phone to me, and set a smoothie on the coffee table. I was amazed that I hadn't smashed it to a billion bits.

"So what was that all about?"

"Jessica got a little bit… Jealous, I guess."

"Because?"

I looked at him, and said, "'Cause I'm over here."

He looked confused. "Yeah, and?"

I looked him in the eye, and said, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?"

He nodded, so I continued.

"Jessica has had a HUGE crush on you since… well, a while." No need to tell him how long. I didn't want to scare him.

"Jessica?"

"Jessica." I clarified.

Some emotion was hidden behind his eyes, something that I couldn't decipher.

"What about Newton?"

"She likes him, but not as much as you."

He groaned, and I cringed.

"Eric?" he asked, looking hopeful.

Wow… he really did not want Jessica to like him. I said, "I will tell you how she feels about Eric. This is a direct quote, mind. 'A concrete wall has more personality than him.'" Which, of course, was not entirely true. I was friends with Eric, and he had a good sense of humor.

"Harsh."

"That's the inside workings of Jessica Stanley's mind… I can understand why she's freaking out. Cut her a little slack."

He looked at me, seriously confused.

"For what?"

"Oh, come on. You have to know that probably eighty percent of the Female Student body has, sometime over the past nine years, had a crush on you."

He stopped blinking. "Seriously?"

I started laughing. "You didn't know that?" he shook his head, a dazed look in his eyes. "How did you know that?"

"Has a girl ever, like, flipped her hair or something, and then started giggling if you walked past them?"

"Oh, That's what was running through their minds."

"Yeah."

"You should write a handbook on girls, describing what they do so we can know that they aren't just psychotic."

I laughed, and then said, "Edward… I'm sorry, but I kind of nudged her in that direction."

He glared at me, and I looked at him, apologies in my eye.

"Well, that's what you do, when a girlfriend likes one of your guy friends! You encourage them!"

He didn't say anything, so I said, "Sorry, then."

"That's alright. It's what I get. For hanging out with a girl all these years."

I smacked his arm, and he rubbed it in mock pain.

"Can I ask you something, though?"

He picked up his smoothie and nodded.

"Doesn't it bug you, that guys and girls can't be friends without everyone jumping down their throats all the time?"

"Totally."

He picked up a Jolly Rancher and threw it at me, and then hid behind the couch. I smiled and then grabbed a handful and then tossed them behind me, and I heard the clunk of them hitting the carpet, and a few knocks, signaling that they hit Edwards head.

"OW. Bella, that hurt."

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R&R.