Let the Games Begin

A/N: Hey, guys. I'm back. I'm posting this early because you all are awesome and you deserve a quick update after that atrociously long wait that I made you endure. So, here's Chapter 10.

Chapter 10
Newton? Tampons? Dancing? Oh My!

(BPOV)

I was going to fucking kill Edward Masen. I'm talking full on ninja kick to the head sort of deal.

Ever since he told Newton that I was interesting in him, he wouldn't leave me alone. Especially during Lit. He would moon over me, offering me things like pens and paper. Asking if I needed anything, if you know what I mean. Constantly asking me out on dates.

And of course, every time he asked, he would get the cold shoulder or the bird. On particularly bad days, he would get a light smack to the back of the head.

And all the while, Edward was watching, that infuriatingly sexy smirk on his face, his emerald eyes alight with mischievous laughter.

If he thought that he was going to get away with that little stunt, then he wasn't as bright as I thought he was.

Now, seeing as I wasn't the most well-behaved child back in Seattle, I knew what I was doing. Pranks and mischief were something that I had mastered at a young age, so this was going to be a piece of cake.

We all knew that Edward wasn't very fond of getting a lot of attention from girls. And I promised myself that I wouldn't make him go through that again.

Or me, for that matter. I didn't like the way it felt when I saw all of those girls rubbing against him like cats that wanted him to pet them. It really pissed me off, so we're going to avoid that for now.

But I never said that I was opposed to having a little fun with him around his guys friends. Let's face it, things like this didn't happen enough to guys like Edward, so I'm sure his friends didn't have enough to tease him with.

So, me being the good samaritan that I am, I'm going to help them out in that department.

~x~X~x~

I walked into Lit and sat down in my seat. Edward was already sitting in his seat, his feet propped up on the chair in front of him, his hands linked behind his head.

"Good morning, Bella," he greeted me, his crooked smile firmly in place.

"Edward," I said back, not looking at him.

He dropped his feet from the seat and turned towards me, his arms resting on his knees. "So, you coming to the game today?" he asked nonchalantly.

I froze for a second. At the mention of the game, I remembered what happened at the last game.

The smirking. The intense gazes. The kissing (okay, it was on the cheek, but still). Soccer Edward as an Edward that was in his element and he knew exactly how to work it.

I was about to answer him when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. I looked up and saw Newton standing there, his signature sleazy smile on his face.

"Hey, baby," Newton said. He nodded his head towards Edward. "This guy bothering you?"

I looked at him incredulously. "Newton, what the hell have you been smoking lately? Because it is seriously hindering blood flow to your brain. I'm not your "baby" or anything that comes close to it. And no, he's not bothering me, unlike you."

I shoved his arm off of my shoulders and pushed him away. "And quit touching me." I really didn't have enough energy to deal with him today.

I turned back to Edward to find him smirking at me, like he seemed pleased that I had just told Newton off. I really didn't know what to make of it. "Yes, Edward, I'll be at the game. Alice and Rose are making me go. I hope that doesn't bother you," I said as sweetly as possible, hoping that Newton would get the hint that I wasn't interested in him and that he would leave me the hell alone.

This also might have been a bad (or a very good) idea because now Edward was smiling at me. That perfect crooked smile that sent the butterflies in my stomach into a tizzy. Oh Lord... Even when I was angry at him, he still made me act like a lovestruck fangirl.

His eyes flickered to something behind me and I noticed that Newton was still standing there, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his eyes narrowed in jealousy. What the hell is wrong with him? Other than the fact that I just rejected him. Again.

Edward noticed Newton's expression and his smile only grew wider. "Great," he said. "I'll see you there then." He threw me a wink before turning to the front of the classroom, the smile still on his face.

I heard Newton huff indignantly from behind me and stomp off to take his seat. But I couldn't make myself look away from Edward. He was literally driving me crazy. He was angry with me one moment, then he would pull something on me the next, and now he's flirting with me. I really didn't know what to do with him.

I sighed. Damn teenage hormones.

~x~X~x~

After class, Edward was out of his seat before I was. I took my time gathering my things. I wasn't in a hurry.

As I walked out of the class I heard two familiar voices (one more friendly than the other) around the corner from the classroom. I peeked around the corner to find Newton and Edward having an intense conversation.

"I thought you said that there was nothing going on between you and Bella," Newton accused.

Edward shrugged. "I was telling the truth. There's nothing going on with me and Bella."

Newton looked suspicious. "Are you sure? She was all over you today in class. She was giving you gooey-eyed looks through the entire period."

I gasped and pressed my back up against the wall. Shit! Was he serious? Had I actually been doing that? Was my attraction to Edward so obvious that even Newton noticed? God, I hope not. Otherwise, I was in a huge load of shit.

I peeked around the corner again to catch the last part of their conversation. "What?" Edward laughed incredulously. "No, she wasn't. That would have to mean that she actually liked me... which isn't possible... I don't think..." He stopped, his face suddenly very thoughtful. "I've got to go."

Edward turned abruptly away and started walking in my direction, his brow furrowed in thought. I gasped and tried to move out of the way so that he wouldn't see me, but he ended up running right into me.

He was startled out of his thoughts and he let out a little gasp when he saw me. "Bella," he said quickly. "Sorry, I didn't see you standing there." And then he walked quickly away.

I stared after him in shock.

Was he really that shocked by the idea? Had he really not noticed? I guess it was understandable. I had been so hot and cold with him, he was bound to be confused. Hell, I was confused. I really didn't know what to do.

I shook my head and saw Newton coming towards me. My eyes widened and I sprinted in the other direction. I wasn't going to deal with that again.

For the rest of the day, Edward didn't even acknowledge me. He seemed so out of it, like he was thinking about something really hard. I really didn't like the feeling of being ignored, especially when he wouldn't stop with the incessant winking and smirking for the past couple of days.

Well, I definitely had a way to get his attention (and get a good laugh in the process).

~x~X~x~

The soccer game was right after school today, so Alice, Rose, and I headed straight back to our rooms to change and then head to the field. I made sure to grab my bag of... tricks before we left though.

"Did you notice how quiet Edward was today?" Alice asked.

I looked up at the mention of his name. "Edward? He seemed fine to me," I said, trying to get her to drop the subject.

"Are you sure? He seemed a little off. I hope he's alright for the game."

"I'm sure he's fine, Alice," Rose said, reassuring her.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," I said, thankful that Rose jumped in.

We got to our seats and sat down. Everyone was filling the bleachers quickly, Edward's fangirls squealing all the while.

"Does the squawking ever stop?" I asked, shooting a glare at a girl that just squealed loudly from right behind me.

Rose and Alice shook their heads and rolled their eyes. "No, and it only gets worse. They'll start screaming if his eyes even wander over in this direction," Rose sighed.

"I swear, they're all idiots. Blind idiots, at that," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"Blind? How?" I asked, confused.

"They can't see how he's never paid any sort of attention of any of them. He never has after the Tanya debacle back during freshman year," she explained. And then her eyes started to glitter mischievously. "That is, until this year."

"What's different about this year?" I asked, trying to keep my tone from sounding too overeager.

Rose and Alice exchanged a look. "You."

"Me? What about me?" They just gave me dumbfounded looks. I sighed. "Fine, I may have pulled a few pranks on him, but what does that have to do with anything? I pull pranks on anyone who deserves it."

"And what exactly did he do that deemed him deserving?" Alice asked, her eyebrow cocked.

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. "He just... he annoyed me and... he's just... too perfect."

Alice and Rose laughed. "Bella, he's the farthest thing from perfect."

The crowd roared all of a sudden. I looked up and saw the team running onto the field, Edward bringing up the rear of the line. They all waved to the crowd as they ran by. Edward's eyes locked with mine for the first time since Lit this morning and I sucked in a breath. The corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile before he ran to the field.

Alice and Rose noticed the exchange and they both smiled. "He so likes you."

"What?" I shook my head quickly. "No, he doesn't. And besides, how can you even tell?"

"How can you not tell?" Alice asked, her tone full of shock. "You're the first girl that he's shown any sort of interest in in two years. He's constantly flirting with you-"

"No, he's not," I interjected.

"Then what do you call all of the winking and waving and smiling? Trust me, he's flirting with you."

I shook my head again in denial. "I just don't see it. I don't even think I'm his type."

They both exchanged a look again, small smiles on their faces. "You'd be surprised. Edward has a very different taste than you might think."

I was about to ask what his type was when a little voice in my head said Why do you care? You know it can't happen. You're not supposed to let it happen.

Another voice said But you want to. Come on. You know you want to. He's perfect. He's exactly what you want.

The conflicting parts of my brain were giving a major headache and I really needed a break. I needed something to distract me.

I looked down at my bag and I knew that the contents would definitely distract me. I told Alice and Rose that I had to use the bathroom, grabbed my bag, and headed down the bleachers.

I made sure everyone was watching the game that was now in full swing and then headed towards the boys locker room. I slipped through the door and then got hit with a wave of boy stench. I nearly gagged at the odd mixture of sweat, cologne, and boy. Good Lord, these boys need to discover this thing called deodorant. And maybe air fresheners. I took another breath. Definitely air fresheners.

I looked around the room and finally spotted the locker that I was looking for. Locker number 2. Edward Masen's locker.

I patted my bag to make sure its contents was still there. I heard the bag crinkle and I smiled. This was going to be awesome.

(EPOV)

It had been a few days since the Newton incident and Bella had yet to do anything to me. She was probably biding her time, waiting for the opportune moment to strike back.

During Lit and Bio, she would just give me an innocent smile or a little wave, never actually doing anything to me. On occasion she would blow me a kiss from across the cafeteria.

I didn't want her to think that she was unnerving me, so I would just wave or wink back, letting her know that I was as cool as a cucumber.

In reality, I was anything but. She was throwing me off. I was constantly looking over my shoulder for something that wasn't there. I was being paranoid and I really didn't like that I was flinching whenever a girl of... loose morals (which meant almost all of the female student body) came near me, thinking that Bella had sent her to do something to me.

As if I wasn't jumpy enough, Newton decided that he and I needed to have a little chat after Lit this morning.

He was still trying to get Bella's attention, but the only thing he's gotten is a cold shoulder and a few more bruises. If I had known that Newton was going to be this persistent, I wouldn't have set him on Bella. One of these days, she's actually going to do some permanent damage to him and it's going to be his fault.

When he pulled me aside after class, he told me that Bella had been looking at me. Like full on gooey-eyed, lovestruck looks. I didn't believe him. I mean, Bella and I only tolerated each other. We couldn't be in the same room for more than five minutes without one of us insulting the other.

So when Newton told me this little tidbit of information, I was a little shellshocked. Bella might actually like me. I really hadn't even imagined it being a possibility until I thought about it.

For one, she had yet to punch me, so I'm going to take that as a good sign. Two, there were times when I would catch her staring at me. She would always look away quickly whenever I caught her, her cheeks tinting the lightest shade of pink. And call this wishful thinking, but this whole prank war thing we've got going seems like something kindergarteners would do if they liked someone.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't bring myself to look at Bella because I knew if I did, then I would do something stupid like ask her out. I knew for a fact that I liked her (even though she annoyed the everliving shit out of me sometimes), but jumping into something the same day that I found out that she might like me back was not a smart idea.

We had a game this afternoon after school. As soon as the last bell rang, I was out of my seat and heading towards the locker room. We were supposed to be changed and ready to start warming up as soon as possible otherwise Coach would have our asses.

The rest of the team started shuffling in and changing. Seth came in and threw his stuff in his locker. He started rambling on about something or other. That was his thing. He rambled, jumping from subject to subject and he expected everyone to keep up with him. I, fortunately, have gotten used to his ramblings and have gotten pretty good at following wherever his mind went.

"Hey, did you notice how clingy Newton's gotten with Bella? I swear, if he doesn't stop soon, he's not going to be able to reproduce when she's done with him. She looked like she was going to cut off his dick during Lit today," Seth rambled.

See, case in point.

"Yeah, I noticed that. I would tell him to fuck off, but it's really just too much fun to watch," I said, chuckling as I remembered Bella's irritated face from earlier this morning. Good Lord, she was adorable when she was pissed. Kind of like an angry kitten.

Coach came into the locker room then and called us all to attention. "Alright, guys, go warm-up." A round of "yes, sir" and "yes, Coach" filled the room and we all headed onto the field for warm-up.

The stands started the fill up as we warmed up. I scanned the bleachers for Bella but I couldn't find her. I couldn't see Alice or Rose either, so they must not be here yet.

Coach blew the whistle and we all headed back to the locker room. He told us the game plan and we waited for the announcer to announce us before we ran onto the field. I scanned the crowd again and found Bella sitting with Alice and Rose. Her eyes locked with mine and I gave her a small smile before running onto the field.

I couldn't think about her right now. I had a game to concentrate on.

The coin was flipped, the refs blew the whistle, and the game began. We did our thing and ended up winning the game 3-1.

The team cheered along with the crowd as we all headed back into the locker room. I opened my locker so that I could get my clothes when an avalanche of little plastic packets came raining down on top and in front of me. "What the fuck?" I yelled, jumping away from whatever was raining down on top of me.

When the pile in front of my locker finally stopped growing, I looked down to figure out what they were.

I (and the rest of the guys around me) jumped even farther away with gasps of horror when we figured out what they were.

Tampons.

"What the hell is this shit?" I asked, looking around the room. Emmett came up and looked down at the pile and then started laughing.

"Those, little cousin, are what we call tampons. Girls stick them up their-"

I cut him off before he went any farther with that comment. "I know what they are, Em. I want to know why there's a year's supply of them in my locker."

"Is someone trying to tell you something, Eddie boy?" Em asked, trying to look sympathetic, but failing miserably. He really looked like he wanted to laugh.

"And what exactly might that be, Em?" I asked, trying to control my temper.

"Well, you have been kind of moody lately..." he trailed off.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "So you're saying I'm PMSing? Brilliant, Em. That's wonderful. Thank you."

Emmett just laughed and went to go finish changing.

"Hey, Edward," Jazz said, his voice tight, like he was trying to keep himself from laughing at something. "There's a note."

I turned back to my locker, and, sure enough, there was a note taped to the inside of my locker door.

I ripped it from the door and read it.

Dear Edward,

I hope these help with that little problem you've been having. And try taking some Midol to help regulate the PMS. It helps.

You played wonderfully today. Congrats on the win.

Sincerely,

B.

P.S. Guys, seriously, there're these things called deodorant and air freshener. Use them. It smells like something died in here.

I growled and ripped the note into little pieces and threw it in the trash can. I grabbed an empty trash bag and started throwing all of the tampons into it. I didn't even bother changing. I just tied the bag closed and stormed out of the locker room. I heard the rest of the guys scrambling to watch what I was about to do, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I saw her sitting with Rose and Alice, a smile on her face.

If I wasn't as pissed I was at the moment, I would have said that she was beautiful when she smiled. But right now, I was too pissed to think about it.

I stormed over to where she was sitting and dropped the bag directly in front of her. "I think these belong to you," I ground out.

Bella looked down at the bag innocently. She opened the bag and gasped, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. "That's where they all went. My supply was running kind of low. Thanks for finding them, Edward. That was really sweet of you."

And then, to my (and everyone else's) complete and utter surprise, she leaned over the railing and kissed the corner of my mouth. She leaned back, the smile still on her face, her eyes glittering. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I had had this whole speech planned out, but the feeling of her lips on my skin made all previous thoughts leave my head.

"Uh, you're welcome," I muttered incoherently. I turned back towards the locker room and started walking that way.

"Hey, boys," Bella called to the team. They all looked up at her. "There're these things called air fresheners. Use them. It smells like a shithole in there." And, of course, she says all of this with a smile on her face.

Good Lord, of all of the girls I could have liked, I pick the one with the mouth of a sailor and a twisted sense of humor.

All of their mouths dropped open (except for Em and Jazz who were used to Bella's oh-so-ladylike language). They had never heard a girl curse before around here. I rolled my eyes at them (after my senses came back, of course) and started pushing them back into the locker room. I turned back to Bella. "We'll work on that. And, Bella?"

"Yes, Edward?" she asked innocently.

"Find someplace else to store your tampons."

I heard all three of them cackling as the door shut behind me.

~x~X~x~

Do you know what's worse than finding out that the girl you like has some sort of vendetta against you? Finding out that your etiquette teacher has finally decided that the junior class was ready to begin the "social interaction" unit.

Now most people would be excited about this. Not me. Nope, not at all. Because here at St. Alexander's, social interaction meant one thing:

Dancing.

And I'm not talking about a good old fashioned bump and grind or disco inferno here. I'm talking ballroom dancing. The waltz. The foxtrot. And my personal favorite, the tango.

Note sarcasm.

And as if this whole thing couldn't get any worse, the Nazi has this little tradition. Every year she picks two unfortunate souls to demonstrate for the entire class. And one of them is always the class president.

Guess who the class president is?

You're right. Me. Lovely, isn't it?

On the upside, said class president gets to choose who his or her partner will be.

Once I remembered this small detail, everything just fell into place.

Bella had to pay for that little locker room stunt because that shit wasn't going to fly with me. So what better way to get back at the rebel than to make her conform. This was pure fucking genius.

I knew I wouldn't make a fool of myself. My mom made my father (much to his displeasure) and I take ballroom dancing lessons when I was younger, so I knew what I was doing. It wasn't a skill that I liked to flaunt though. Not exactly the most masculine thing on the planet, now is it?

It was a couple days after the locker room ordeal and everyone was buzzing with excitement about the new unit. That is, everyone but me. They didn't have to demonstrate the damn dances for everyone.

I had really considered skipping today, but I knew that Coach would have my ass if he found out, so I knew that I couldn't.

I had been dreading sixth period all day. But as I knew it inevitably would, it finally rolled around and I trudged to class. I plopped into my seat, dropping my bag at my feet.

Jazz sat down next to me and gave me a questioning look. "What's up with you?"

"You'll find out soon enough," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

The bell rang and everyone quieted down as The Nazi came through the door. She stepped onto the stage and said, "Alright, children, today we'll be beginning the social interaction unit of the class. We will be starting with ballroom dancing." All of the guys groaned and the girls started twittering and giggling. "Today will be a demonstration day. Now, who here is the class president?"

Everyone turned to look in my direction and I, reluctantly, raised my hand. "Ah, Mr. Masen, will you please join me onstage?"

I shot Jazz a look and he shrugged sympathetically at me. I sighed and got up and walked to the front of the auditorium and up onto the stage. I stood as far away from the Nazi as I could without it being too noticeable to her. A few of the students noticed what I was doing and started snickering.

"Now," Mrs. Hugenstein continued. "Mr. Masen, you will be needing a partner of the female variety. I will let you choose your partner."

I felt a small smile slide onto my face. "Yes, ma'am." I turned towards the left side of the auditorium where all of the girls were sitting. Most of them were sitting up straight with their chests sticking out. Like that was going to influence my decision. I spotted Bella sitting next to Alice near the rear of the room.

She was looking down, messing with something in her lap, and definitely not paying any sort of attention. Typical Bella. Alice elbowed her and she looked up and her eyes locked with mine. A devious smile spread across my face and her eyes widened and she started shaking her head quickly. I nodded, the smile still in place. I walked off the stage and started walking towards her row. She continued to shake her head, but I just kept walking.

I made it to her row and extended my hand to her, smirk in place. She scowled at me and reluctantly placed her hand in mine. I pulled her from her seat and we walked back to the front of the room. "I really hate you right now," Bella muttered under her breath.

I snickered at her as we climbed the steps to the stage. Mrs. Hugenstein looked Bella up and down and looked downright appalled. I had to admit that Bella's uniform wasn't exactly regulation. She was wearing the skirt and shirt, but the normalcies ended there. Her streaked hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and the only make-up she had on was some smudged black eyeliner. She was wearing a blue t-shirt with the Superman logo under her button-up. Her socks always entertained me. Today, they were bright blue and black plaid. Her signature black Chucks were adorning her feet.

"Ah, Miss Swan," The Nazi deadpanned. "You'll need to change your shoes."

"Why?" Bella asked. I knew that she knew why. She was just being difficult.

"Because those-" She pointed at the Chucks with disgust. "-are not proper footwear."

"Well, I don't have any 'proper footwear' with me at the moment," Bella quipped with air quotes. I pursed my lips to keep myself from laughing.

Mrs. H pointed at the bin sitting to the left of the stage. "You'll find some in there. Now change."

Bella huffed and headed over to the bin. "You too, Mr. Masen." Fuck. Ugh, I hated dress shoes. They hurt like a bitch and made me look like a dork. I dropped that persona back in middle school.

I grumbled under my breath and headed over to the bin with Bella. She scowled at me as she pulled a pair of heels out of the bin and started taking her shoes off. I shrugged at her and found my size and started putting on the shoes.

"I'm not taking my socks off," she grumbled as she shoved her foot into the heel. I could have sworn I heard her muttering something about a "crazy bitch that made her wear deathtraps" under her breath. I may have let a chuckle slip when I heard that.

When we both had on the "proper footwear", I took Bella's hand and helped her back up the steps. She seemed a little unsteady in the heels and I didn't want her to fall.

"Alright, now, do either of you know how to ballroom dance?" Mrs. H asked.

"Yes," I said, my face heating up as I did. Bella was giving me a strange, slightly incredulous look. I heard the girls sigh dreamily behind me. Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?

"Which dances?"

"Waltz, foxtrot, tango," I said quietly.

Mrs. H actually looked a little impressed. "Very well. And you, Miss Swan?"

Bella crossed her arms over her chest and gave a terse nod. "Yes. Same."

"Wonderful," Mrs. H said before turning to address the class.

"I didn't know you could ballroom dance," I whispered to Bella.

She rolled her eyes at me. "It's not exactly something that I advertise." And then she turned on me. "And you would know how."

"And why is that exactly? Do I give off some sort of vibe?" I asked, chuckling.

She threw me a look. "No, you don't give off a vibe, but you can do everything else, so why not ballroom dancing?"

"There are plenty of things that I can't do," I told her, giving her a smile. She snorted and rolled her eyes just as Mrs. H turned around and told us to get into position.

"Now, class, we'll be starting with the basic waltz. Mr. Masen and Miss Swan will be demonstrating."

I took Bella's hand in mine and she placed her other one on my shoulder. I pulled her body closer to me, so that her chest was just barely brushing mine. She gasped softly and stumbled a little in the heels, but I held her upright. This was the closest we had been since our kiss all those weeks ago.

And I really liked it.

"You let me fall in these shoes and you'll be a dead man," Bella hissed at me under her breath.

Even when she threatened me.

"I'll never let you fall," I whispered to her. She shivered slightly and moved a little closer to me.

Mrs. H walked over to the stereo and started it. A slow classical song blared through the speakers.

"Begin," Mrs. H called over the music.

Bella and I began the waltz and I spun her around the stage, keeping her upright at all times, just like I promised. Traditionally, you're supposed to look over your partners shoulder, but I just couldn't bring myself to look away from Bella's eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful. They were a warm chocolate brown and they were constantly glittering with mischief and laughter.

They were glittering now like they were the first night I saw her. And I knew then that I had to have her. Soon. I was calling this war off. I was willing to surrender if I could find a way to make her mine.

When the song ended, Bella and I slowed to a stop. She was breathing a little harder than normal, her sweet breath fanning across my face. She was so close. All I had to do was lean down two inches and I could be kissing her.

But I held myself back. I didn't want to kiss her in front of everyone. Not again anyway. When I kissed her again, it would be just the two of us.

"Very good, Mr. Masen. Miss Swan," Mrs. H said. She turned to address the class about the following dances and off we went again.

For the rest of the period, I twirled, spun, and dipped Bella across the stage. She actually laughed a little when I threw in an extra spin here and there. During our tango, I dipped her at the end and brought her back up, her face inches away from mine and her leg hitched up over my hip.

Let's just say that the tango is now officially my favorite ballroom dance.

When Mrs. H finally let Bella and I take our seats, I brought Bella's hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles softly. She blinked a few times in shock before smiling softly at me and heading back to her seat. Some of the girls were glaring at her, but Bella just ignored them as she walked back to her seat in her socked feet, her Chucks hanging from her fingers. As soon as she sat down, Alice started jabbering away in her ear. Bella rolled her eyes at her friend, but laughed when Alice did.

I walked back to my seat and all of my friends were smirking at me. "Don't say a word." I sent them all looks that told them I was serious.

They all laughed anyway as I sat down. "Who knew you were so light on your feet?" Jazz said, cracking up when I flicked him off.

Seth elbowed me in the ribs and nodded behind us. "Newton looks like he's about to blow a vessel. Apparently, you're encroaching on his territory."

I narrowed my eyes in Newton's direction and saw him glaring at me. Our little semi-truce was definitely over now. "I'm doing no such thing. Bella's not anyone's territory. And if she hears you say something like that, then I know for a fact that you'll have a shiner the next day."

"Ain't that the truth."

The bell finally rang and I got up quickly and headed in Bella's direction. "Bella," I called. She turned around and told Alice to go on ahead of her. Alice nodded and threw me a wink before grabbing onto Jasper's arm and heading off to class. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," she said hesitantly. We headed over to the side of the building to get a little bit of privacy. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair. "I want to call a truce."

"A truce?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I said. "I think this whole prank war thing is making me paranoid and I honestly don't work well with paranoid."

She seemed shocked at first but then she started laughing. "Okay, we'll call a truce for now. We don't want you to have a panic attack or anything."

"No, of course not," I said, smiling down at her.

"That would just be tragic. Then who would all of the girls swoon over?" Bella snickered.

I narrowed my eyes playfully at her. "Ha ha, very funny."

She snickered again. "Come on, twinkletoes, before we're late."

"Hey, now. No name calling," I said, sending her a look.

She just laughed again before heading to class.

~x~X~x~

(BPOV)

Things between Edward and I have been... interesting over the past couple of days, to say the least. Now that we weren't constantly looking over our shoulders for each other, we were a lot calmer around each other.

But some things stayed the same. He smiled at me, the butterflies would return, and I would smile back. He would talk to me on occasion about little things. It was nice and I really liked it. And, because neither of us could really help it, we made snarky comments to each other.

But now it was Saturday, also known as the day that I had to make myself invisible for the next twelve hours. My mother was sending a car to pick me up to take me to the airport so that I could fly back to Seattle for some dumbass party that I didn't give a shit about. She expected me to be there around three so that I could get ready.

Yeah, that shit wasn't about to happen.

I woke up early, got dressed, and I grabbed the bag that I had packed the night before. It had snacks, my iPod, a couple books, my laptop, and a blanket. I left a note for Alice telling her that I would be out for the day and not to expect me back until tonight.

There was a small wooded area towards the back of the campus, so that's where I was headed for the rest of the day.

I poked my head around the corner to make sure no one was around. No one was so I snuck down the back stairs and walked quickly towards my destination. Since it was early Saturday morning, I knew that no one would be around.

I made it to the woods and slowed my pace, humming to myself as I walked around trying to find a good place to settle myself.

I had just spotted a grassy area a little ways in front of me when I heard something coming from my right. It sounded like someone was... singing. I quietly made my way towards the patch of trees that I'd heard it coming from.

I moved through the trees until I came across a brightly lit spot with a few trees clustered together. And hanging from two of the trees was a hammock. And someone was laying in that hammock, singing softly. It sounded like a guy.

I snuck forward and hid behind one of the trees, listening to him. I felt like some sort of lame ass version of a ninja with the way I was sneaking up on this guy, but I really couldn't help myself. This guy's voice was pure silk and it was drawing me in like he was the pied freaking piper.

"And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am," he sang softly, trailing off here and there.

I moved closer and finally saw a flash of copper hair. I gasped when I saw Edward laying there, his headphones in his ears, eyes closed, hands behind his head.

He hummed softly, completely oblivious to the world around him. He looked completely at ease. I hadn't ever seen him look so calm before.

I didn't realize I was moving forward until I was about a foot away from him. I blanched when I realized what I had been doing and was about to back away so that I wouldn't disturb him when his eyes opened.

He gasped and tried to jump back, but he just ended up falling out of the hammock and onto the ground with a thud. "Jesus fuck, Bella! You scared the everliving shit out of me. What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same question," I said as I tried, and failed, to contain my laughter.

He gave me a look and pulled himself on the ground. "I asked you first," he grumbled.

I snorted and had some mercy on him. "I'm hiding."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "From what?"

I sighed. "My mother wanted me to come home this weekend for some sort of party."

"A party? That doesn't seem too bad," he said, brushing the grass off of his pants.

"You don't know my mother's definition of a party," I muttered bitterly. I really needed to change the subject. "And why're you out here?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to get away from all of that." He nodded towards the school. "It's not always my favorite place to be."

I snorted. "Wait, Mr. Popular doesn't want to be surrounded by his admirers?" I asked incredulously.

He shot me a dark look. "Mr. Popular doesn't always want people getting into his business," he said, his tone just as bitter as mine was.

I blinked at him in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

He shrugged, sighing. "It's whatever. I guess it's understandable how you would make that leap."

I smiled tightly at him and then turned to go. "I'll just leave you to it then."

"Bella, wait. You can stay... if you want," he said hesitantly.

I hesitated for a second before turning back to him and giving him a small smile. "Okay, thanks."

He smiled back and busied himself with his iPod. I pulled my blanket out of my bag. "Here, let me help you with that," Edward said. I let him grab one end of the blanket and we laid it on the ground. I gave him a small smile before sitting down. "You can join me if you want," I said as I pulled out one of the books that I had brought along with me.

He smiled softly at me and gave me a nod before he sat down on the blanket, laying down on his back a few feet away from me, one of his headphones in his ear, his eyes closed. I laid on my stomach and opened up my book. Now that we were done with all of the pleasantries, I finally took in what he was wearing. And it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. He was in a ratty black Stones t-shirt and loose fitting black jeans. The only part of him that I was familiar with were his Chucks that were on his feet.

I had only ever seen him in his school and soccer uniforms, so this was a bit of a shock. If this was any indication of what the rest of his wardrobe looked like, then I'll admit that I had misjudged him a little. None of the Mr. Popular's that I had run into in Seattle ever dressed in anything other than name brand clothing. And they wouldn't be caught dead in anything as vintage as Edward's t-shirt.

And as if he wasn't already perfect, now he was leaning towards my brand of perfect. And laid back rocker style clothing was definitely up there on the list.

We were quiet for a little while until Edward started singing softly. He was so immersed in his own little bubble that I don't even think he realized that he was doing it.

I listened for him for a little while because I honestly couldn't stop myself from listening. His speaking voice was velvety and smooth in and of itself, but his singing voice was like melted chocolate. Warm and irresistible.

He stopped for a moment and I couldn't help but say something. "You have a wonderful voice."

His eyes snapped open and his cheeks flushed. "It's alright, I guess," he said, embarrassed.

"No, I mean it. It's really good," I told him adamantly. He shouldn't be embarrassed about something like this.

He smiled softly. "Thanks." His eyes narrowed playfully. "Did you just compliment me?"

I snorted at him. "I guess I did. Don't get used to it. It won't happen often."

He smiled wider, his eyes glittering. "Of course not." He rolled towards me onto his stomach and propped his head up with his arms. "What're you reading?" he asked curiously.

It was my turn to turn pink. God, I haven't blushed this much in my entire life, but put me in close proximity of Edward Masen and I light up like a Christmas tree. I flipped the book closed and showed him the cover. "Pride and Prejudice. It's one of my favorites."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? You don't strike me as the romantic type."

If he only knew... I played it off as a joke. "It's not something that I like to advertise," I said, smirking.

He snorted out a laugh. "Understandable. It would tarnish your reputation of bad girl."

"Exactly," I said, laughing with him.

He was quiet for a second before he looked me directly in the eye, a determined look on his face.

"You like me. I know you do," he told me all of a sudden, his tone matter-of-fact. I blinked in shock, my mouth opening and closing as I tried to come up with something to say. He brought his hand up and touched a finger to my lips to keep me from saying anything. "And I like you."

"Okay?" I said, though it came out as a question. I was still trying to process what he had just said. He liked me? And he knew that I liked him? "How did you come to this conclusion exactly?" I asked timidly.

He sat up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up with him. He didn't let go of my hand as he spoke. "Well, I knew from the first time I saw you in the cafeteria before the party that you weren't like all of the other girls here. There was something about how you held yourself and-" He laughed a little. "And how you wouldn't take shit from anyone, especially bitches like Tanya. The way you told her off was brilliant, by the way. No one had ever done that before."

"You saw that?" I asked, slightly horrified. I definitely wasn't at my best there.

"Bella, I think everyone saw that," he said, chuckling gently. "But it was just another thing that made me like you even more."

He paused for a second, taking a deep breath. "But it was when you kissed me at the party that I knew that I had to find a way to be with you. You literally took my breath away. I felt like there was ten thousand volts running through my body when you touched me. And you know how I know that you like me too?"

I looked away from him, biting my lip nervously. "How?" I asked quietly.

"Because I know that you felt it too. And I've thought about it. I've seen you looking at me the same way that I look at you. I know you felt it, you still feel it. Right now-" he said, placing a finger under my chin and bringing my face up so that I had no choice but to look him in the eye. "-when we look at each other. It's there and it's not going away anytime soon."

I swallowed thickly. He was right, of course. I did feel it. I felt it every time he looked at me, or smiled at me, or touched me.

But that little voice in the back of my head kept telling me that I shouldn't do it. That I would only be doing what my parents wanted me to do.

Fall for the perfect boy.

But from what I've seen today just in this short amount of time that we've been alone together that Edward wasn't just the golden child that as he seemed to be in everyone else's eyes. He was much more than that. He had his friends that knew him as the prankster and captain. The student body that thought he was the class president and hottest guy in school. The faculty that thought of him as the straight A student.

Sure, he was all of that, but who knew him as the sweet guy that was sitting in front of me that was too modest to admit that he could sing like an angel and would rather hide out in a forest than be surrounded by hundreds of people? Or the guy that could make me blush at the drop of a hat when nothing else could and make me smile at the simplest of things?

Not many, I'm sure.

I looked back up into his eyes and saw them shining with sincerity. I knew he wasn't making this up. You couldn't fake something like this.

And that fact made that little voice shut its mouth right then and there.

"Go on a date with me?" he whispered, stroking my cheek with his fingertips.

I smiled softly up at him and his eyes lit up. "Okay."

A/N: Isn't he the sweetest thing ever? Good Lord, I think I swooned a little when I was writing this last part. And I even cried a little for him when Bella was taking about how nobody knew the real Edward. I'm just an emotional mess today.

And they're finally going on a date! Woot woot!

Good Lord, this chapter was freakishly long. I guess I'm making up for that freakishly long time gap between updates. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it.

And I wanted to let you all know that Let the Games Begin has been recommended for The Lemonade Stand's Fic of the Week, so thank you to all of you who recommended my story. It's an honor. The poll is still open for one more day, so go vote for Let the Games Begin at www . tehlemonadestand . blogspot . com (just remove the spaces).

Anyway, until next time.

Cat :)