A/N: Happy weekend!

"Do any of us actually know anything about football or all we all here to ogle the players' tight butts?" Bella asked, amused when no one in their little group seemed remotely interested in the apparently superb play that had just gone down on the field. Everyone else around them was barely settling down again after leaping to their feet.

Carlisle raised his hand. "I know many things about football, and I am definitely not here to ogle butts."

It was the first football game of Bella's junior year. Bella had been dragged to it by her friends, Angela and Jessica. Edward had come along because he actually had the afternoon free for once and...yeah. Cute butts. Carlisle had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and, well, Jessica could be trusted to flirt with anyone who looked as good as Carlisle did, male or female, regardless of age.

Hey, Bella knew she wasn't the only one with a hot professor fantasy.

Being polite, Carlisle had agreed to go along, but he wasn't responding to Jessica at all. It made Bella weirdly smug. She hid her smirk as Jessica puffed her chest out a bit more, just in case.

"Maybe you're not checking out the butts, but you're not paying attention either." Bella leaned over and plucked the phone from Carlisle's hand.

He caught her by the wrist, the movement so quick and firm it made her gasp. "Sorry," he said, keeping her hand in an iron grip while he took his phone back with the other hand. "Personal information."

"I'm sorry." She laughed, the sound breathless. Her heart had skipped a beat and was pounding against her ribcage now to make up for it. It had been an obnoxious move, but how was she supposed to know he was working? Who worked at a football game? "You're supposed to work or play. Not both at the same time."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he let her hand go. "It was just an e-mail. Will you pass the popcorn?" He reached across her for the bag she held in her other hand.

Now it was her turn to play keep away. "Nope. I asked everyone if they wanted some, and you were too busy with your phone. You snooze you lose, buddy." She flashed her cheekiest grin.

Edward leaned over from his place a few spaces away. "She did ask." He matched Bella's cheeky grin.

"Uh huh. I see how you both are."

Bella stuck out her tongue. Carlisle reached over again and took some popcorn anyway, flashing her a satisfied smirk as he munched his prize. She poked him in the side.

"You know you're drooling, right?"

Bella's head snapped to the side, her brows furrowed in confusion, but she realized Jessica wasn't talking to her. She'd apparently given up on getting Carlisle's attention, and was snickering at Edward whose cheeks were indeed pink.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, have you seen him?"

Following Edward's gaze, Bella figured out who he and Jessica were talking about. The player had a nice body, but didn't they all?

"He swings your way, you know," Jessica said in a teasing voice.

"You know him?"

"Yeah. We hang out. His name is Benjamin. I can introduce you."

"Well, you kids have fun with that." Carlisle stood, his eyes on his phone again.

Bella looked up at him, frowning. "You have to go?"

His eyes met hers. "Yeah. This is turning into a thing." He gave her hair a playful ruffle. "I'll see you soon."

Half an hour later, Jessica had taken Edward off to meet the jock of his dreams, and Bella was walking with Angela back to her dorm room.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Angela asked. "You don't have to answer. I was just curious."

"About what?"

"Is there something going on between you and Edward's brother?"

Bella stumbled a step. "What? Like what?"

Angela shrugged. "I don't know. You just seem close, I guess."

"We are close. I mean...we're friends."

"Yeah." Angela sounded uncertain, but she shrugged and smiled her gentle smile. "I don't touch my friends that much, but I have personal space issues." She laughed. "Can you imagine how jealous Jess would have been? She'd have shit a brick."

~0~

As it was getting toward the end of the year, Edward was again super busy. Thus, as per usual, Bella was alone in the apartment at night and about to go out of her skin. She was perched on the edge of the couch, her feet up, and her fingernails in her mouth. She gave a startled yelp when she heard keys in the door.

Stepping into the living room, Edward stopped and looked at her. "Bella?"

"Thank fuck you're home." Bella threw her book to the side and got up. She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.

He hugged her back. "What's going on?"

"Come sit with me," she pleaded, taking his hand and hauling him toward the sofa.

"Okay. Honey, are you…" He trailed off, and Bella saw his eyes were on the book she'd discarded. He stopped short, making her spring backward. "For fuck's sake, Bella. One of your books is freaking you out, isn't it?"

She screwed up her face.

Edward pulled his hand from hers and crossed to the sofa. He picked up the book that had fallen to the side. "The Demonologist. The True"—he spoke that word scathingly—"Accounts of the Paranormal Investigators Featured in the film 'The Conjuring'." He shook the book. "You can't possibly believe this, right? Demons?"

"I don't believe it, but I don't notbelieve it." She shook her head. "It's fascinating regardless, okay? It just…" She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "It's creepy, that's all. Come on. Just sit with me. I'm almost done. I'll read it out loud for you."

Edward shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. I only came back to get my stuff."

Bella stared at him. "You're leaving? You can't leave."

"I haven't seen Benjamin for five days, B." Suffice it to say, Jessica's introduction at the beginning of the year had gone well. Edward and Benjamin were head over heels these days.

Usually, Bella liked to tease him about his relationship—good naturedly of course—but this time, she was the needy one. "A little distance is healthy."

"I want to get laid."

"You can't do this to me," she whined.

"I'm capable of doing that to you, but I don't want to. Which is why I'm leaving you to go visit my boyfriend."

Bella wrinkled her nose. "Well, fuck. Fine. Who would want to have sex with you anyway?"

"Benjamin." He kissed her nose. "I'm going to get my bag, and I'm leaving." He headed for his room.

"You're leaving me here to be eaten by demons," she called after him. "You realize that, right?"

"There's no such thing as demons, Bella," he called back. "Just substitute the word demon for vampires. You said that vampire book I got you didn't scare you."

"Because vampires are ridiculous. Burned by the fucking sun. Give me a break. That's not plausible."

He reappeared, backpack over one shoulder. She put on her best puppy dog expression. "Please stay? Just for a little while? Or tell Benjamin to come over here."

His expression was wary as he eyed her. "What happened to that boy you were messing around with? The freshman? Jacob."

Bella made a face. "Bleh, I cut him loose. He was way too obsessed with my boobs. You fucking swear. He always had his hands on them just because he could. Honka honka. Was he twelve?"

"I'm not going to say I told you so…"

"Except you just did." Bella stuck out her tongue at him.

Edward chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Okay. Be good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"No!" Bella grabbed his hand. "Edward, please."

He looked exasperated. "Boyfriend, Bella. Sex. Lots and lots of athletic sex, and I, for one, wouldn't mind if he keeps squeezing my fun bags." He looked down his own body and waggled his eyebrows. "Bye now."

"Don't go! I'll… I'll.. I'll tell your brother."

Edward stopped short and looked at her, his lips quirked in amusements. "Seriously? You're going to tell on me?"

Bella was already dialing. "Hey, Bella." Carlisle picked up on the second ring.

"Your brother's being mean to me."

Edward rolled his eyes and shouldered his bag. "You're ridiculous. Goodnight, Bella."

"Are you okay?" Carlisle asked on the other end of the phone.

Bella huffed. "Yeah. Sorry, I was giving Edward a hard time for leaving me to be eaten by demons so he can get some."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "See, I know that was all in English, but I'm pretty sure I missed something."

"Bleh. Don't mind me. I maybe, kinda, sorta creeped myself out reading this severely disturbing book, and I'm here all alone and spooked."

"And Edward wouldn't stay home," Carlisle finished for her.

"Yeah, the bastard."

Carlisle chuckled. "Do you want me to come over?"

"What? No. I'm not actually that ridiculous," Bella lied.

"I'm only doing some research. Nothing I couldn't do anywhere."

Bella hesitated, biting her lip. In her head, she could see Carlisle at the other end of the couch, laptop on his lap and feet propped up on the coffee table. Warmth spread through her chest at the thought, chasing away the creepy-crawly sensation that threatened after Edward left.

But, no. "I'm a big girl. I'll survive."

After she hung up and because she was the biggest moron ever, Bella picked up the book again. Twenty minutes later, she'd dragged her comforter out to the living room so she could hide under it, cringing away from the book in her hand.

When someone knocked on the door, Bella actually screamed. She fell to the floor, tangled up in the comforter, which only made her more panicked. It took her forever to wrestle herself out of the confines of the blanket, and when she did, she wasn't entirely surprised to find that Carlisle had let himself in. She yelped anyway, landing backward, resting on her elbows as she looked up at him.

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, Bella catching her breath and Carlisle pursing his lips as though he didn't know quite what to make of her. He breathed in through his nose and spoke calmly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "That's good."

She narrowed her eyes. "Because you don't want to laugh at me if I'm actually in some kind of danger?"

At that, he couldn't keep his grin from spreading as he laughed. He was lucky he had such a pretty smile, so she couldn't be angry at him. He chuckled again and put a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just that you look…" He gestured with his hand at her.

She didn't have to guess how this must have looked. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair and clothes disheveled after her wrestling match with the blanket. Yeah, possibly not her best moment.

Carlisle offered his hand, and Bella took it, letting him pull her to her feet. "Did you really come over here because I'm scared of demons who probably don't exist?"

"See, but you can't rule it out. So why take a chance?"

"Ugh." Bella covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. "Oh, man. I'm such a little kid right now. Like I woke up from a nightmare and I need the real adult to chase away all the invisible monsters."

"That's the thing about nightmares. The monsters aren't invisible to the person having one."

"But I'm not even having a nightmare." Bella sat on the couch in a huff, pulling her legs up to her chest. She picked up the book and thrust it at him. "And in my defense, all of this stuff supposedly happened."

"Hmm." Carlisle sat beside her. He flipped open the book and began to read.

Bella was self-conscious at first, wondering if the words sounded ridiculous to his ears. But Carlisle didn't make fun of it the way Edward would have. In fact, he piqued a curious eyebrow and read in an interested tone.

After a few minutes, Bella was really getting into the story. She scooted closer and closer to him until her toes were brushing his leg. Chills ran down her spine as he read about an encounter with a possessed doll. He lifted his arm, and Bella didn't hesitate. She threw her legs over his lap and curled into his embrace, hiding her face at his shoulder as he read on.

When he got to the part where the doll spoke, the voice he put on was so eerie it made her skin crawl. She lifted her head with a gasp. "Oh, my god. Don't do that."

With a devilish grin, he tilted his head so his lips were near her ear and read on in the same creep-tastic voice. Bella squeaked, splaying her hands against his chest and pushing back. He held her fast, though, not letting her get away.

"Oh, I see how you are. You come over here like a white knight, supposedly to slay the monsters, but noooo." She smacked lightly at his chest. "You just want to creep me out more. Who's the real demon here, huh?"

He chuckled. The sound was a low rumbled she felt against her palm, and when he spoke, his voice was huskier than she ever remembered it being. "Yes, that's me. The scary demon. Don't pretend you don't like being scared," he teased.

"No one likes being scared." She argued out of habit, but she was curiously dizzy and distracted, suddenly very aware of his nearness.

"You're right. The horror industry does absolutely no business, and all those haunted houses that pop up around Halloween time aren't popular at all."

She made a face at him. "You're a smug bastard sometimes, you know that?"

He hummed in response, his eyes on hers. Fuck, he had such pretty eyes. And a devastatingly handsome face. And his arm was strong and firm around her.

In the space between breaths, the air around them changed. The creepy-crawly sensation that ran along her skin was replaced by an electric buzz that made her breath catch in her throat. He raised his hand, skimming his fingers along her chin. The touch coiled something deep in her gut, making her heartbeat pick up speed. Her eyes darted to his lips.

The moment lingered and passed. Bella breathed out in a huff, realizing what she was doing and what she wanted. "I, um…" She got hastily for her feet, her throat tight and her heartbeat going wild. "Pizza." Her voice was distorted. "Do you want some pizza? And maybe we can watch The Conjuring, because you know, I never have actually seen that movie." She'd paced away, heading for the kitchen where she kept a magnet of her favorite pizza place.

"Uh, yeah. Yes. That sounds good," Carlisle said.

In the kitchen, Bella tried to catch her breath. She braced herself against the counter, trying to sort out what the hell had come over her.

She couldn't look at him the way she just had. It was out of the question. He was Carlisle, for fuck's sake. He was… Well, it was just dumb, that was all. What the hell was wrong with her? She'd been a millisecond away from starting some kind of awkward drama.

It was just her body's reaction to being that close to a man, that was all. He treated her the same way he treated Edward—like a sibling. She hadn't grown up with siblings. And he was so damn attractive to boot. Her psyche had just gotten tripped up, that was all, had read the signs wrong.

Except, she had no problem being that close to Edward in a sibling-like way, and he was damn attractive too. She could hang off him and cuddle him, and she'd never wanted to do what she'd almost done a minute ago.

It didn't matter. There were about three thousand ways the whole thing was just dumb. She was twenty-years old to his thirty-seven. Maybe if she'd been a bombshell, or powerful in her own right, he might have glanced twice at her. But even then, she didn't think so. The women Carlisle dated were always around his age and sophisticated. They had fancy jobs and did interesting things.

And here she was, a broke college student in her ratty pajama bottoms, faded t-shirt, getting spooked over a fucking book. So alluring.

It was absolutely pathetic that her eyes started to sting, and it was just dumb. She didn't see Carlisle that way. Her body had just had some kind of reaction.

"Bella?"

Bella took a deep breath, and when she turned to face Carlisle, she'd put on a bright smile. "Sorry. Spaced out for a second. What did you want on your pizza?"

He studied her for a beat, his features painted in concern. Brotherly concern, as always. "Anything but pineapple," he said lightly.

Bella snorted, and the heavy, awkward atmosphere dissipated. "I keep telling you that you're missing out."

"I keep telling you fruit doesn't belong on pizza."

"And yet you were the one who took us to that overly-fancy pizza place that served pearson the pizza."

"They were delicious," he said indignantly. "You said so yourself."

"They were. And so's pineapple."

"Blasphemy."

A/N: Mmmmhmmm.

How are you beautiful people doing?