My mind was already made up. I would go and invite Bella to hang out tomorrow. What Edward needed was time and opportunity for Bella to get to know him. That's something I could materialize with ease. What's more, I could ask her to invite Jasper as well.

Tow birds with one stone. You are really a clever girl, Alice Cullen

A Fresh Start

Bella woke up almost noon the next day. Given she could only fall into a fretful sleep a few hours ago at almost dawn, it was an early rise indeed. The sunshine filtered through the curtain which had partly blown apart from the wind during the night. Remembering the resolution she had made last night, she refused to swell on the melancholy which had been hanging around her like a cloak since yesterday. Taking a shower further revived her good mood to start the day anew. During the night, she had come to the conclusion that she had read too much into Edward's actions and her blunt and out of the blue refusal was indeed uncalled for. She was determined that she should apologize to Edward and Alice on this today.

She walked down the stairs and was puzzled by the mouthwatering smell of pancake. Charlie would rather not having any breakfast than working himself up in the kitchen. Moreover, with the rare fine weather, he should be at Billy's place at this time, checking his fishing gear and preparing himself for an afternoon in the mountain. A loud "bang" sound disrupted her thought. She hurried into the kitchen.

"Oh dad! Is everything alright?' she shouted on the way but came to an abrupt stop at the door.

"Oh! You are awake finally! I have been waiting for you the whole morning" Here was Alice, in her kitchen, wearing her apron, standing next to the stove and looking at the pan with a concentrated frown.

"Alice?" She was the last person Bella would expect standing in the kitchen.

"Yes!" Bella realized that Alice was actually speaking to herself. She had decided that it was not possible to take the pancake out of the pan in one piece. Chopping it into messy pieces, she put them all on the plate and finally brought her eyes to look at Bella.

"Good morning! Bella. Breakfast is ready." Alice put the plate on the island with a grand gesture of "help yourself".

"Thanks…Where is Charlie? How did you get in?" Bella sat down on the stool and started eating the little pieces of yellow crumbs that was called pancake.

"Of course, Charlie invited me in. He was on the way out when I knocked on your door. Knowing that I just live next door and want to spend the day with you, he invited me in and asked me to wait for you in the house instead. I heard the shower and thought it would be a good idea to cook you something as breakfast or lunch, whatever. Is it delicious? I tried to do it in the way Edward taught me." Alice sat on the opposite stool and looked at Bella energetically.

Bella was about to reply when Alice continued her long rehearsed speech with her most adorable puppy eyes.

"I am sorry I dump myself on you like this but with this nice weather, I want to go out to have some fun instead of surrounding myself with boxes. Can I stay with you today? Maybe going to shopping or just hang out?"

"I'd love to, Alice. Jasper and I just plan to hang out with Emmett and Rosalie today at the town. You are most welcome to join." Bella took hold of Alice's hand on the table and said sincerely.

All things went as planned, with the added bonus in the form of Jasper, Alice thanked whoever up there for the reward for her good deed.

"Great! I'd have to go back for a jacket and ask if Edward would like to join as well! I shall wait for you at the parking lawn." Not allowing Bella time to change her mind, Alice danced out and closed the door.

Bella sat frozen with the fork still hanging midway to her mouth. Her heart missed a beat when Alice said she would invite Edward as well. While she had decided to speak to Edward about last night, she had not bet on meeting him so soon. While her mind went on battling on how she should bring out the subject with Edwrad, she hurried to clean the table and went up to change into a simple green T-shirt and indigo jean. As she had expected, the bell rang after almost immediately afterwards. Giving her hair a final brush, she went down to open the door.

"I am just ready to go." Expecting to see Alice, she was taken back to find the Adonis standing right in front of her. Her memory didn't do him justice at all. His hair was shining like molten copper in the sun, highlighting the pale complexion and the perfect features. His eyes were emerald glittering with warmth and sparkles and Bella thought she would forever drown in its fathomless depth. Although smiling timidly, his whole posture emitted warmth and sincerity.

Edward was taken back by Bella as well. He felt the now familiar twisting of his heart, the slight trembling of his hands and the gentle rush of heat to his cheeks. Despite he had seen her twice yesterday; he greedily took in her every feature – the warmest chocolate colour eyes, the slightly damp hair, the generous rough lips, and the forever rosy cheeks. She was not pretty as some of the girls he knew. Bella's beauty was of another kind – something fragile, something fluffy, something warm and pure, just like a sun-kissed pillow that you would just want to bury yourself deep inside and never let go, or like a hot chocolate that you would want to hold in the hands and drink in leisure in a freezing winter afternoon.

He noted that her cheeks were getting rosier every second and belatedly remembered the oath he vowed to himself -he would not burden her with his feelings again. After Alice had left last night, he continued to ponder in the dark. It was almost dawn when he came to the conclusion that he had been too forward in his approach. The feelings he experienced was so intense that it was frightening, even to himself. It was too much to expect that a girl who had hardly known him could comprehend and accept. He would take the normal way. He would try to stay as her friend if that was what she wanted, however hard it would be.

Embarrassed at the way he had been staring at her, Edward gave a nervous smile and said.

"Hi! Alice asked me to pick you up. She met Jasper on the way when she came down to your house. She took Jasper's car and said she would meet you at the mall. Jasper said you could lead the way."

"Oh!" Bella was at a loss at how she should react. His attitude had certainly taken on a much lighter or diluted armor. The earnestness was definitely missing this morning. Bella could not help but blaming herself for forgetting how transient passion and affection could be. She should be happy that she was no longer pressurized by his ardent attention. The reason why she now felt she wanted to crawl back home and curl up in bed for a good cry was beyond her.

Misreading the reason of Bella's silence, Edward stammered.

"Bella, I want to apologize for my misbehavior yesterday. I should act in such ways and I sincerely hope that I didn't frighten you in any way." Despite the dozen ways he had come up with last night or rather, early this morning, Edward was unsure how to proceed. There was too much at stake. He had to earn Bella's forgiveness. Threading his fingers through his hair, he continued.

"So, shall we start afresh? Hi, I am Edward Cullen and I live next door." Edward held out his hand and anxiously waited for Bella's response. A smile broke through Bella's face and she put her small hand into his,

"Hi, I am Bella Swan, the clumsiest person in Forks." Both were secretly shocked by the sudden tingle of excitement the moment their hands contacted. Both ignored it, Bella because she didn't want to let her wall down, Edward because he intended her to.

A/N: Drop me a line, a comment or any suggestion ;)