3. Peanuts and Coffee

Edward.

Stupid Emmett. I mean, did he really have to throw that box of peanuts at my head? There were other ways of settling arguments without resorting to violence.

Apparently, Emmett didn't know this.

Well, it wasn't my fault that Jasper was out on a date with his girlfriend tonight and, because of that fact, I was bored to tears.

It wasn't my fault that whenever I'm bored I find enjoyment in other people's pain and annoyance.

It wasn't my fault that Emmett's 'concentration face' was the funniest thing I had ever seen.

Okay, maybe it was my fault that Emmett just happened to trip the one time he got up to get water.

And maybe it was my fault that I found out that throwing pencils at him brought out the funniest reactions possible. (like trowing peanuts at my head....)

Maybe it was my fault. But I'm not admitting to anything.

I smiled to myself as I thought about my childish reaction but then I realized that I was in Starbucks, not my own little world. I quickly paid whoever gave me the coffee (Emmett forced me to get him one only after he used the peanuts as projectiles) and walked out of the store. I sighed again.

I forgot that it was raining.

And that's when the strangest thing happened; someone fell, right in front of me. Almost into me, if I was being completely honest with myself.

"Woah!" I said, as this took me completely by surprise. I ended up dropping the coffee. Great. I wonder what he'll chuck at my head this time.

Whoever it was who fell was obviously really weak, so I helped to stable her. "Are you oka—Bella?" She looked really bad. I almost didn't recognize her. What had happened to her?

"Edward, right?" Her voice was terrible. It was very weak; I could barely even hear her.

"Yeah." I told her. I just realized that I had never told her my name. So where did she hear it? Oh, right, Emmett, with is big mouth, screaming it out in the mall. Not like that mattered at all. "Bella, are you okay?"

She paused. "No, not really." She didn't look that well either. In fact, she looked sick.

"What's wrong?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I-I w-well," A sharp wind blew by and that seemed to have effected her speech. I had almost forgotten that it was raining. I, honestly, had more important things to think about.

"I w-w-was j-j-ust," Then she started crying. Mabe she didn't want to talk about it, but I really wanted to know what was bothering her, and standing outside Starbucks in the pouring rain wasn't really the best place to strike a conversation.

"Bella?" I asked to get her attention. She looked up at me, and I noticed that her eyes were such a deep shade of brown, like pools of melting chocolate. Not the best analogy, but it worked. They were beautiful, even with tears flowing out of them. But I was more concerned for her health, and the fact that we were standing out in the freezing cold didn't put my mind at ease. "Bella, you know Jasper, right? He told me he knew you when I told him about you." I didn't want to seem pushy, so I asked her that first.

Flashback (sort of) :

"Why aren't you leaving now?" I asked.

"So anxious to have me out of the house, jeez!" Jasper said with mock anger.

I just laughed at him. "No, just wondering. Aren't you supposed to get Alice at 6:50 ish? It's 6:45 now. You have a firm reputation of always being on time to uphold."

"Well, she told me that she needed time to help Bella get all ready for her date, so she told me to hang back until she calls. Bella can be pretty stubborn, so I don't expect her to be calling anytime soon."

"Hmm...that's interesting." I said, not really caring at all as I stared at the TV. Then something dawned on me; "Did you say Bella?"

"...yeah...why? You know her? I don't think Alice ever introduced you...."

"I met a Bella at the mall today..." I started to explain.

"Yeah. It was her. We were at the mall while I was waiting ever-so patiently for you and Emmett to rescue me...." He trailed of expectantly.

"Oh. Yeah. About that..."

"Yes that. You owe me. I had to go into Victoria's Secret."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Have fun?"

"Well." he was giving me the death glare now, and all it did was bring on another round of laughter. "Anyway. Brown hair, brown eyes...?" he said, quickly directing the conversation away from himself.

"That rings a bell." I said with a smile playing on my lips. Imagine that, meeting Jasper's-girlfriend's-best-friend.

We just sat there in comfortable silence until Jasper's phone went off.

'I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world..."

I looked at him with my eyebrow raised, giving him a look that, I'm guessing, probably questioned his sanity. Which was exactly what I was doing; questioning his sanity.

He flushed with anger. "Emmett....he's going to get it twice as bad now..."

Of course. Emmett was the answer to all problems.

Why Jasper's ringtone was 'Barbie Girl'? Emmett.

Why the fridge was mysteriously empty? Emmett.

Global Warming? Emmett.

Possible alien abductions? I could blame Emmett for that, too.

You name it, and I can blame it on Emmett.

"I'm going now..." Jasper said on his way out the door, trying, and failing, to keep the hint of frustration out of his voice. I could tell that he was currently plotting Emmett's downfall. The thought alone made me smile, and I spent the majority of the next hour plotting my own little scheme to get Emmett...which ended...well, you know, the peanuts and all that...

(End sort-of flashback)

She nodded. She looked really confused for some reason....oh, right. I forgot how random that question would sound to anyone who couldn't read my mind. I figured I should explain myself; "Bella, it's really cold out here. Do you want me to drive you to my apartment? Jasper and my friend from the mall, Emmett, live there. My car is right there." I pointed to my left, where I parked my silver Volvo S60R. This was a good car and all, but nothing like Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, but I don't want to stand out like a sore thumb, which, overall, means 'no Vanquish'.

She nodded again.

I opened the passenger door for her, making a motion for her to get in. She got in, and I couldn't help but notice how frail she looked. I had to do something...

"W-why are you g-g-giving t-this to me?" She said as I handed her my jacket. She blushed, and I was happy that some color was added to her skin. It looked as if any color besides white has been long since removed from her cheeks. It definitely made her look more alive.

"Bella, you look really cold, you're pale as snow and dripping wet. You need it more than I do." Which was true.

"I-I can't t-take it! It's y-yours!" It seemed as if it took a lot of effort for her to say this. Why couldn't she just take it?

"Bella." I swear to god, if you don't take this jacket right now, I will force it onto you. No, that wouldn't help my cause at all. I'll take a different approach; "Put it on. You look sick." Just take it. Please. The longer you resist, the sicker you'll get. I don't want that to happen...

She looked at me with an expression of both shock and confusion on her face for a moment before she took the jacket. At least she came to her senses..., I thought as I made my way to the drivers side of the car.

Once I started the car, she looked immediately relieved. It took me a second to realize that it was because the heater had warmed up the car, and, invariably, everything in the car, including her. Huh. I never paid it any mind. I never realized it would ever have such an impact on one person, but apparently it can.

"Edward, what time is it?" She asked after a moment or two. Her voice sounded so much better, a significant difference could be heard between her what it is now and what it was five minutes ago.

"It's nine." As I told her this, a question came to mind, and I almost didn't want to say it, for fear of the answer, but I had to know. It was of the utmost importance right now, so I didn't have any other choice. "Bella?"

"Yes?"

"How long have you been outside like that?" She looked surprised for a second, then she went into a state of deep concentration.

After a minute or so of silence, I saw (in my peripheral vision, of course. I had my eyes on the road.) an expression of shock cross her face. Oh no. I was not going to like this answer.

"An hour." she said through a tight throat. She must not have noticed the time passing by, or she wouldn't have been so genuinely surprised. I should have figured it would be that long, judging by her appearance. It could have always been worse..., I tried to think optimistically, and failed.

"That's about what I thought. You really don't look to well, Bella. Why were you outside, walking in the rain with that?" I asked, motioning towards her ensemble that was clearly not fit for an evening like tonight.

"Well, I was....well my whole day has been horrible and–"

Then she started crying. Again.

Good job, Eddie. You made her cry. Twice. All in a matter of fifteen minutes.

"Bella? What happened?" I asked her. I had to try my hardest not to crash into anything now. I didn't really care about the road, all I wanted to do was look into her eyes and figure out what was wrong.

"I– well, first," She tried to get out, "Alice dragged me to the mall against my will, to g-get me ready for the blind date she was putting me on, again, unwillingly. T-then I get sick in Abercrombie, of all places, and I fall in front of you. After all that, Alice played Barbie-Bella until it w-was time for my date, and, as it turns out, he was a total loser, so I left. When I got out, I realized that Alice drove me there, and that it would be hours before she picked me up, so I decided to call her. That was before I saw that my phone was dead, so I just started walking. This day is really – Just, – ugh, I don't even know. I just want curl up into a ball and wait for it to end!" She was crying incessantly now. I wish there was some way I could help her, console her in some way, but I couldn't think of anything. I felt really bad, but I didn't want to let that show. She didn't seem like the type of person that begged for pity, but I had no idea what type of person she was.

"...And that's when you ran into me." I finished for her.

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't really fall into the 'really horrible day' category. That may just have been the only good thing that happened all day. I mean, now I'm warm, and I have someone to talk to." This took me by surprise. I didn't think I had done anything to help her at all, but apparently I did. That made my outlook of the whole situation just a little brighter. At least she was happier now than before.

"Speaking of running into you, I'm sorry about the coffee. I'll have to buy you a new one..." She said, clearly embarrassed that she voiced her last comment.

"Oh. Right. The coffee." Let's be honest; that wasn't exactly what was holding my attention at the moment.

"Why were you getting a coffee at nine o' clock at night, anyway?" Ha! She didn't care either. She was just directing the topic away from herself.

I decided to humor her; I didn't want the conversation to bother her, and this topic couldn't hurt, could it? I mean, it was about coffee.

"Oh. Well, it was for Emmett. He needs to stay up late to finish...whatever it was that he needed to finish. Whatever it was, it is due tomorrow." There was no inflection in my voice. Oh well. It just reflected my actual attitude towards the subject.

She looked a little upset for some unfathomable reason. "So if he falls asleep and doesn't finish, it'll be my fault?"

"No, Bella! That's not what I meant, not at all!" More inflection this time. I was wrong; apparently this topic of conversation could hurt. It seems Bella goes against all my assumptions. I never know what to expect from her, but I certainly didn't expect that. It's not even that important. If it was, then he would have finished it a week ago, when it was given to him. Besides, I think he can manage to stay up. I think he just wanted me out of the house because I was annoying him."This would be a bad time to mention the peanuts making contact with my head, so I left that part out.

I heard her sigh, and I figured she was done with small talk, so I never brought up a random tidbit of trivial information that most people would use to fill uncomfortable silences. Those were really stupid anyway. "So, where are you from?" Here. Duh. "What brings you here?" We are in Starbucks. Can't you tell I'm here to bake a flipping cake? That would be a little rude, so I would normally answer with the, quite obvious, "Coffee." and the newly popular, "Did you hear about Obama?" Of course I've heard about Obama. Everyone has! So why bother asking? I swear, some people are just idiots.

The conversation in my head turned into a list of people that I think should get hit by buses because of the sheer idiocy of their , I know, but in the confines of my own mind I can think like the five-year-old that Emmett is often perceived as.

"Rose, stop beating Alice with that ham! She'll let you wear her cowboy hat if you ask nicely..." She trailed off. I stared incredulously at the road ahead for about three minutes before I realized that she was asleep. It should have been the first thing that came to mind, seeing as how sleep-talking isn't that uncommon, but I have to admit that, for a second, I thought she was actually talking to me. I shudder at the thought of her having symptoms of delirium, so I quickly dismissed that from my mind.

She didn't say another word for the rest of the ride, so I just sat there quietly, wondering what she could possibly be dreaming about.

Emmett.

Focus. Focus....

snap!

Great. That was the third pencil in 10 minutes I have broken.

I threw my pencil, and it hit the wall. Making a dent where it made contact. "STUPID WALL! Getting in the way of my pencil. The nerve!!"

The sad part was, I was genuinely angry.

...at the wall.

...for magically appearing out of nowhere, and stepping in the path of my pencil that I threw.

Oh gosh.

This was going to be a long night.

--

Yeah, I know its only a redo of the last chapter from Edward's view, but I didn't know that it would be this long. Next chapter will be Edward's POV, too, so don't worry, you still get your fill of his awesometasticalness.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, life just gets in the way sometimes. Anyhoos, song(s) for this chapter are:

-Gotta Be Somebody – Nickleback (I know some people don't like them, but just give the song a chance. I really like it.)

-Candle (Sick and Tired) – The White Tie Affair

Oh, and I edited out most of the language in the other chapters. I went back to re-read it and realized how much it mirrored my day, so I took nearly all of them out.

....And that's pretty much it.

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Yay or Nay? Hit or Miss?

Jazz