Summary of last chapter, in case you skipped it: Lauren and Jessica are caught passing a note that basically says 'Bella is a slut for sleeping with Edward before they've even been out for a while'. Bella gets really upset because they also say things like 'She's so plain' which she has been thinking all along, so it hits a nerve. Edward tries to get her to tell him what's wrong, but she won't; all he knows is that something BIG is bothering her. So he calls his emotion sensing brother, Jasper, to ask Bella what's wrong. Jasper takes Bella out of school, and Edward hides in the trunk of the car to hear what's bothering her. Bella figures out that he's listening somewhere nearby, and is planning revenge.

Disclaimer: Twilight? Not mine. This story? All mine! Yay!

Notes FOUR!

Edward's POV

I heard Bella sigh; probably not believing that she was going to tell what was bothering her, after she'd most likely promised herself she wouldn't.

"What's bothering me is…" I waited with baited breath, many of my questions about her ready to be answered.

"I think Edward is cheating on me." My mouth dropped open and I felt the car swerve a little in Jasper's shock. His thoughts were going haywire, completely shocked at what Bella had said. In a dazed, offhand voice, his mind asked me 'You're not cheating on her? Right?' Though you could tell by his mind-voice that he'd asked out of reflex, not even thinking about it. I growled so softly that Bella had no chance of hearing, despite her somehow advanced sense of it.

Okay, Okay, sorry! I didn't mean to think that. Jasper told me. He cleared his throat, trying to think of what to tell Bella. I was debating coming out of my hiding spot, to beg her to tell me that she was kidding. There was no way that I would, or even could, ever cheat on her. I couldn't believe that the thought would ever cross her mind for a second. I loved her as much as it was possible to love someone without being considered disabled!

It was impossible. There was no way that Bella would think that. If she thought that I was cheating on her (I cringed at the thought) she would either ask me flat out, or attempt to spy on me. She was lying. Why would she…

She knew. Her brilliantly secretive mind had figured out that I was in the car, or at least in the general vicinity. I sighed softly.

"Jasper, tell her I am cheating. She knows I'm here." I breathed, making sure that almost no sound left my lips. As a fresh wave of inspiration burst over me, I added, "Tell her you think Alice is cheating on you too. With me." Let her make what she could of that. If she wanted to play, we'd play. I could always 'dazzle' her into telling me the real answer later; she needed to know that I could shock her as much as she could shock me.

Bella's POV

"Bella…" Jasper sighed, his brow contorted slightly. "I think you might be right." I could feel my mouth drop open, hanging there for several seconds before I managed to pull myself together enough to yank my jaw back into place with a sharp 'click'.

"You do, do you?" I asked, frowning at the shock in my own voice. Maybe Edward was right, and I was a terrible actress. I composed my face into a mask of calm serenity; as if accepting the inevitable, or what I already knew.

"Why do you think I'm right? Have any strange females entered your house lately?" I could feel my heart speed up as I realized that Jasper's face mirrored my own, worry shining through. Edward couldn't really be cheating on me. Could he? I was plain, and I knew that I didn't deserve him, but he would at least have the decency to break up with me before pursuing some glorious female vampire.

"Because I've noticed him and Alice sneaking off together multiple times recently. Alone."

"Alice?" I squeaked out in shock. Alice wouldn't, couldn't, ever do that. Not only to me, but to Jasper as well. He and she were really and truly in love, the kind of love that was so hard to find; once you found it, you wouldn't give it up, not matter how gorgeous the new person might be. Even Edward-level gorgeous.

I was positive that Alice would never do that, absolutely positive; it just wasn't built into her system. As I pondered why Jasper would lie like this, a flash of intuition hit me like a speeding train: Edward knew that I knew he was here. I blew out sharply through my nose. This was so unfair. He had his emotion-sensing brother to tell him everything that I felt, so he probably knew that I'd figured it out again, by my flash of anger.

Unless…

How far was I willing to go to win this little game we had going? Was I willing to risk Jasper's possible anger?

"I just don't know what to do anymore. I think Alice is cheating on me, with Edward of all people! The brother that I trust, and even look up to some of the time!" Jasper said dramatically, seeming really cheesy now that I knew he was acting.

Yes, I most definitely was willing to risk it. He was on Edward's side, so that meant he also had to loose for me to win. And this was one thing that I would win.

I formulated my plan as I took in a deep breath, opening my mouth to set this little game of ours into action.

Edward's POV

"I'm so sorry, Jasper. I knew that it was someone, but I never dreamed Alice would do something like this." Both my brain, as well as Jasper's, were swimming in confusion. She was supposed to panic at the ludicrous idea that I was cheating on her! Why wasn't she hurt at all that I was 'cheating on her' with Alice?

"You know what? We should get together. I've always felt a strong attraction to you; maybe this was fate's way of getting us together." Bella said rationally, as if this plan made perfect sense. The car swerved again, Jasper's shock mirroring my own. Bella and Jasper? She'd had feelings for him? I couldn't stop myself from firing off a pang of jealousy, as I always would to anyone that Bella had any feelings for. Or anyone that had feelings for Bella.

Are you kidding me? You're jealous? Seriously? Jasper's thoughts screeched at me. He wasn't taking this well. I huffed, before yet another strong wave of realization came washing over me.

I was positive that Bella had no feelings for Jasper. He would have sensed them before, and she would acted differently around him. She knew that I knew she knew I was here. This was getting out of hand.

"Don't you think that it's a good idea, Jasper? I've seen the way you watch me and I feel the same way! We could be so happy together!"

Whenever this little game of ours ended, I'd be sure to tell her that I was wrong about her acting skills. It sounded as if she meant every word she was saying, and thought Jasper's mind, I saw that she looked it too.

It occurred to me that she could be telling the truth. Every word she'd spoken could be what she really thought. She didn't know I was here, she didn't think that Jasper would tell me anything, she was honestly answering his questions. I felt an overwhelming pang of pure agony wash over me at the thought that she really did have feelings for Jasper, and felt nothing more towards me. Was my competitive nature making me imagine she was doing this on purpose?

Should I end this game? If it even was a game. We were both getting in way over our heads. I looked through Jasper's mind again, getting a perfect video of Bella. When Jasper was staring at the road for a second; awaiting my next set of requests, I saw Bella's eyes flash towards the back of my Volvo, behind which I was hiding.

She so knew.

"Jasper, tell her that you love her too. We need to win this." I breathed to him. He chuckled in his mind, enjoying this. He knew that, no matter what happened, Bella and I would be perfectly fine, so he saw no reason why he couldn't have a little fun with us.

Bella's POV

My eyes darted to the back seat when Jasper was watching the road, probably waiting for Edward to whisper what to do next. I wondered again why Jasper was doing this. I'd considered him as a sort of brother, and here he was fighting with Edward to win this little war we had going. He was probably finding some sort of humor in it, something to do while waiting for Alice to return from her shopping trip. It occurred to me that Alice must have seen this coming. Why didn't she warn me? Or if that wasn't cryptic enough for her, she could have told me not to accept rides from her husband, or something. I wonder if she found it amusing that Jasper was accusing her of cheating with Edward.

I froze in my thoughts, a new, brutal picture painting itself before me. What if none of this was a game? What if Jasper really did think that Alice was cheating on him? What if he really thought that Edward was cheating on me? What if it was all true? The lies I'd invented before now a Frankenstein-ian nightmare to haunt me? I swallowed past the sudden pain in my throat, fighting not to break down right there. How did I know that this was all a game?

I watched Jasper, still waiting for his response to the question I'd asked, when I saw his eyes flash quickly to the rear-view mirror, looking at the empty backseat.

Or the trunk.

A small smile wormed its way back onto my face. This was a game.

And I was going to win it.

Hehe! I love how they think the exact same thoughts! Hope you liked! Review!