Wow, it's definitely been a while. Please review if you want another chapter within a week! (It really inspires me.) Again and still, I don't own Twilight. Lucky girl, that Steph!
The electricity between us was almost palpable, as if a magnetic force was willing us to come together. I was sure that he felt it, too, and that he wanted to act on the desire to explore the strange turn that our friendship seemed to take that evening. But, once I was out of the car and the spell was broken, I forced myself to chalk it up to an overactive imagination. I supposed that wanting something to happen between us so badly made it seem real to me, and those kinds of mind tricks were to be expected when you find yourself in love with one of your best friends. God knows I had my share of fantasies about Edward over the past months, but they normally waited to surface until I wasn't around him. This was a new twist to my psychosis.
The more I got to know Edward, the more I fell in love with him. And realizing that my opportunities to spend time with him were coming to an end in a few months, I spent as much time as I could in the garage. I tried not to make it look too obvious to Charlie or the other people there, though, because in a small town like Forks rumors circulated like tornadoes, and did just as much damage to anyone in their path. It horrified me to think of the gossip mongers of our small town making a meal out of my personal life, or Edward's.
Alice spent a lot of time on the weekends with Ben, which I was fine with. I missed having her all to myself, but if the tables were turned I knew she would be supportive of my relationship. And in a sense I did have my own relationship going on, albeit one-sided. She and I went to the gym together as much as possible, and sometimes Ben and Mike would be there, too. Ben and Alice would talk, of course, but Mike would just glare at me from whatever piece of equipment he was working out on at the time and stay on the opposite side of the building. One day Edward asked me if I had heard from Mike at all since "that night." He failed miserably at trying to conceal a very smug smile when I told him about Mike's efforts to avoid any contact with me.
As was my routine, I sat in the garage one night watching Edward work on Charlie's cruiser and discussing movies, when he abruptly changed the subject.
"Bella, do you have your phone handy?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm," I mumbled, nodding. "Do you need to use it?" I pulled it out and handed it to him. He started to push a lot of buttons, and I was going to ask him if he needed help when I heard his phone ring. He took it out of his pocket and hit a button before putting it away again.
"Thanks," he said, handing my phone back. I held the phone in my hand, staring at him quizzically.
"Sure, no problem," I managed, "But, just out of curiosity, why did you need my phone when yours is in your pocket?" I asked. Edward gave me one of his crooked smiles as he answered.
"I added my cell phone as a contact on your phone and then sent your number to my phone," he explained. "That way if there's ever an emergency or a need to reach me, you'll be able to."
"Oh," I responded, "I guess a bat signal would be too cliché, huh?" I smiled when I thought of all of the emergencies I could find myself in. Edward may have just found himself a full time job.
"It would just make me feel more at ease knowing you could reach me," he said, and he looked away just as I caught a glimpse of redness touching his cheeks. I wondered for a moment how helpless he really thought I was, but my heart swelled with the idea that he was basically putting himself on call twenty-four hours a day in case I should need him. The problem was, I always needed him.
"Well, the same goes here," I said, thinking that I should return the kindness. "If you find yourself stranded or lost, feel free to send out an S.O.S., and I'll come rescue you for a change."
"Thanks, it's a deal," he said. So, now we were trading phone numbers and giving each other permission to call if either of us needed anything - well, sort of. I wondered if maybe this meant we were good enough friends that I could explore some taboo territory. The masochist in me wanted to know how things were going with Tanya, but the timid lamb inside of me was telling me not to be reckless.
"Edward, can I ask you something?" I began, still unsure if I should ask the question on my mind.
"Uh-huh," he said, reaching under the hood of Charlie's cruiser.
"How's Tanya?" I almost choked on her name, but luckily it wasn't audible. Edward leaned over so that he could look at me from under the hood, and I gauged from his expression that he wasn't expecting that question.
"Fine," he said, but he looked down and his brow was creased, as if he wasn't entirely sure of his answer. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, well, she doesn't live around here, and I never hear you mention her, so I wasn't sure if everything was still okay between you." Oh my God, did I really just say that?
"Well, I won't say things are perfect by any means. Tanya is a really nice person, and she seems to have definite ideas about where her life is going, but sometimes I'm not sure if I'm headed in the same direction. I guess I'm not ready to entirely grow up yet, which puts me in the same category with about ninety-nine percent of the male teenage population." With that he stuck his head back under the hood and continued working. But, was I smart enough to leave things alone? No, of course not.
"So you're still planning on moving in together when you leave for college then?" I asked, trying to keep the tone of my voice light.
"Yes, at the moment that's still the plan," he said, not looking up. I scrambled for something to say, trying to avoid an awkward silence.
"Well, whatever happens I'm sure it will all work out for the best." I immediately wished I had said something different as Edward looked into my eyes with a very confused expression on his face. It was almost as if he knew that whatever happened to make things work out between him and Tanya would never be what I considered 'for the best.' Luckily, before I could open my mouth and insert my foot any further, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see who had sent me a text, and saw ALICE written in the display, so I opened it to see what the little pixie was up to.
B, I NEED U. MY HOUSE ASAP. ~A.
I wanted to text or call her to find out what was wrong, but since I didn't like where my current conversation was headed, I excused myself as quickly as I could.
"Something's up with Alice. I've got to head over to her house, so I guess I'll see you later," I said, jumping off of my stool to leave.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Um, I think so. She didn't really say what was up. Could be just a fashion crisis, but apparently she doesn't want to deal with it alone." Alice had been known to declare a shopping emergency if she didn't have the exact right shoes to wear with a particular outfit, and I was used to being dragged to the mall at a moment's notice.
"Be safe, Bella," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Thanks," I replied, giving him a wave from the door.
Charlie had no problem with me leaving a little early since he had planned to go home soon anyway, so I walked the two blocks to Alice's house after texting her that I was on my way over. The moment I stepped into Alice's house my breath was taken away by the driving force of my best friend throwing herself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. I felt panicked and demanded to know what had happened, but it took her almost five minutes to blurt out what had triggered this devastating reaction.
"H- he- he broke up with me!" she managed between breathless sobs.
"What? Alice, what happened? What did he say?" I asked, incredulous. It took Alice a minute to compose herself, and we walked upstairs to her room just in case either of her parents came home - or worse, Emmett. She sat on her bed and I knelt down in front of her, holding the hand that she wasn't using to hold her tissue, murmuring to her that it would be okay, and waited for her to be ready to tell me what happened.
"Well, he texted me during last period to say he was coming over after school. I was really psyched, since nobody else was going to be home for a while and we could just hang out, you know?" I nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"So, he gets here and he's acting all weird. Usually the first thing he does when he sees me is kiss my forehead and asks how his 'little Tinkerbelle' is doing. It was always so sweet when he'd call me that...." she trailed off and looked off into space, and I could tell that another round of crying was about to commence. Sure enough, it was another couple of minutes before she was composed enough to finish the rest of the story. I was already wishing that Ben was nearby, because the word "asshole" written with a Sharpie across his forehead would just about do the trick right now for what he was putting Alice through.
"There was this girl, Charlotte, who he had dated a few months before we met, and he said he never really got over her. All of a sudden she decided that she wanted to get back together with him, and he said that he needed to find out if they were meant to be or not." I was almost struck dumb by what Alice was telling me. I never took Ben for the kind of guy to just jump back to an old girlfriend. But, then, I didn't really know him that well and neither did Alice, for that matter.
"Oh, Al, I'm so sorry," I said, giving her a hug. "I don't think anybody could have seen that coming," I reassured her while rocking her back and forth.
"I know," she whispered. "Jeez, when I think about how close I came...." she said more to herself than to me, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, you know..." she said, giving me one of those looks.
"Alice, you didn't!" I nearly yelled once I realized what she meant. I knew, though, that she would have told me if she had had sex with someone.
"No, Bella. I didn't," she said. It didn't escape me that she almost looked disappointed at her own admission.
"Alice, you don't think that's why he really broke up with you, do you?" Alice had told me that Ben was eager to take things all the way, but it didn't seem like it was a deal breaker. Alice didn't seem to think so, anyway.
"I don't know, Bella. I know that he and Charlotte did it, and part of me wonders if he wouldn't have considered going back to her if we had. Maybe it meant more to him than I thought."
"Alice, think about what you're saying. Aren't you the one who said she wanted to wait for her "Mr. Right," and wasn't going to be talked into it by some high school boyfriend who probably wouldn't even remember it years later?"
"Are you quoting me on that?" she asked, smiling a little for the first time since I saw her that day.
"I am, actually," I said, smiling back. "Besides," I said quietly, "I know better than anyone that there's someone else you'd be happy to wait for, even if it means dating a few jerks first." Alice looked up at me and I could tell that she was thinking about Jasper, which was my intention. Slowly the signs of distress left her face, replaced with calmness.
"You know what? You're right," she stated confidently. "If I had let Ben talk me into losing my virginity, and anything ever did happen with Jasper, I would have regretted it. I know I won't regret not doing it with Ben. I did really like him, though."
"I know you did," I agreed. "Listen, I'll stay as long as you want me to tonight, but I don't want to hover if you need some time alone."
"Do you think Renee would let you stay over?" she asked. While I dialed my phone, Alice went to the bathroom to wash her face. After explaining to my mother what Alice had been through that day, she had no problem letting me stay overnight to comfort my best friend, even though it was a school night. She even offered to drop off some clothes and my toiletry bag on her way to yoga class after confirming that I didn't have any homework that needed to be done. Sometimes she could be an amazingly cool Mom.
Alice's parents had worked late that day and were exhausted when they got home. They ordered Chinese food and we sat around the kitchen table with them and Emmett, everyone eventually arguing over who was getting the last egg roll. Of course, the joke was that nobody really wanted it except Emmett, and we all burst out laughing when, with a deathly serious look on his face, he offered to arm wrestle all of us for it. Alice had told them during dinner that she and Ben had broken up, and everyone said they were sorry to hear it, but thankfully nobody pressed for details. Emmett took off after dinner and Alice and I cleaned up while her parents went into the family room to watch TV and relax.
Upstairs in her room later, Alice and I picked out a chick flick to watch containing almost no romance, and got ready for bed. As I went for the remote to start the movie, Alice stopped me.
"Wait. We have to do something first," she said, grabbing her laptop.
"What's that, exactly?" I asked.
"Find a new gym," she said as she started Googling. I nodded and smiled, thinking that wasn't a bad idea at all.
After the movie ended and Alice had one last cry for the night, we both began to drift off. I was just starting to fall into a deep sleep when suddenly I was jolted awake with a buzz under my head. Not realizing what was happening, I sat up looking around. Alice was sound asleep, the room was pitch dark, and I vaguely remembered where I was.
I had left my phone next to my head, and I must have rolled onto it at some point during the last few minutes. I looked down at the lighted display and saw only the letter "E." Still half asleep, I opened my phone trying to figure out what was going on.
BELLA – I TALKED TO EM. HOW'S ALICE? -E
My heart sped up when I realized who it was that had texted me. I didn't know what to write, so I replied with just the facts.
HI. SHE'S OKAY NOW. SLEEPING. I'M STAYING W/HER. –B
I didn't have to wait more than two minutes before my phone buzzed again.
U R A GOOD FRIEND. SWEET DREAMS. – E
I read the message about twenty times before shutting my phone and lying back down. Was he kidding? How was I supposed to have sweet dreams when there was absolutely no chance of me sleeping now?
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