A/N: Big thanks to JaspersBrand for being the best beta there is. She's SUPER BETA!! *rips JB's shirt to show giant S underneath* teehee :oP

Also big ups to my Twilighted beta, neveryoumind, who has an AMAZING turnaround time!

P.S. The chapter title is a song by Sublime. Check it out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer has that privelege. I am merely a plus-size girl trying to make it her own.

Chapter 7 – Big Salty Tears

The decision was actually an easy one. As long as he's up for it, we'll screw around and I'll get mine.

Hopefully I won't get hurt in the process.

**

Rose insisted on buying us matching Durham Bulls jerseys and I felt a little bit ridiculous. This was probably the only time I would be wearing it and I thought it was a waste of money but Rose paid and said I had no excuses. Of course, with them on, she looked like a pin-up girl and I looked like Peter Griffin.

At least with Rose, I could voice my concerns about my body and she would take me seriously. She insisted that I was crazy, of course, but that if it bothered me so much, she would do my hair and make-up for me so I would feel more comfortable.

That's why I love her. My opinion of myself, while skewed, mattered to her. She didn't negate it or brush it off. She knew that it was one of my, for lack of a better word, issues, and she loved me all the same.

After we were all paid up and had our bags in hand, we decided to stroll around the mall for a little while and see if there were any shoe sales. Ok, Rose decided and I followed. After about twenty minutes of window shopping, she decided that there weren't any good sales going on. We started making our way back to the door nearest our car in the lot and I suddenly heard a booming laughter I would know anywhere.

I spun around to see Jake's towering form leaning down talking to a barista at the coffee kiosk on the bottom floor of the food court. He was perched on one elbow with his other hand touching her nametag and their faces were way too close for my comfort. I hissed at Rosalie and took off towards him. Rose followed behind me with a wide-eyed expression and no words coming out of her shocked open mouth.

"Jake," I said a little too forcefully for a morning pleasantry.

Jake whipped his head around and when I registered in his mind, his body shot up straight and he looked like a kid who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Bells. Hey. What are you doing here?"

"It's a mall, Jake. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Hi, can I get you something?" the barista piped in.

"No, thank you, but maybe Jake here would like to pick his fiancée up a nice frapuccino or a café latte. Jake?"

Rose scoffed and put her hand over her gaping mouth and Jake's dropped open in shock. Oh I could be a bitch when I had to be.

"Sorry, Ness. Gotta go," Jake grabbed my arm and started walking. It actually really hurt but I had a smirk on my face the whole time.

Rose had followed behind us but Jake waved her off. He let go of me long enough to get in my face.

"You had no right to do that, Bella. None."

"Oh, but you had the right to flirt with your stupid coffee ho while your fiancée is at home planning your WEDDING?!" I yelled loudly, hoping the barista would hear.

"Oh please, I'm just a place-filler. Leah's been a bridezilla for so long now, I doubt she even notices I'm gone half the time. She's made it quite clear that she does not need my help."

"So that's an excuse to go off and, what, cheat? Are you cheating, Jake?! Did your little Vanessa even know that you were engaged?"

I didn't know why I was so enraged. I didn't even really like Leah. Damn code of women or whatever the hell this was.

"It's Renesmee, not Vanessa, and no, I haven't cheated, I'm just talking to...."

Before he could finish his sentence, I coughed out, "Excuse me. Ruhnezmay? What the hell kind of a name IS that, anyway?"

"Shut up! It's Italian...or something. Look, Bells, this is really none of your business. Ness knows that I'm not happy and that's all she needs to know."

"Wow, Jake. Very classy. You know what? You and your little chippy can do whatever you want to do. I just hope Leah doesn't find out. Or, on second thought, I hope she does. Rose!" I called. Her head snapped over to make it look like she wasn't watching us out of the corner of her eye the whole time.

"Oh come on, Bella. I'm not doing anything wrong here. Besides, I'm just having fun. It's not like there are any real feelings, not like with you..." he stopped speaking and I was never more grateful.

I was floundering. Did Jake just say he thought he had feelings for me?

"ROSE!" I was freaking out. "We're leaving, NOW!"

She was at my side in a flash and we were out the doors faster than I could blink an eye.

We practically sprinted to the car and she peeled out.

"Can you BELIEVE that asshole!! Not only is he trying to tickle his pickle with little miss Loch Ness in there, but then he has the nerve to say that he has feelings for you? Un-freakin-real! He's engaged for cripe's sake!"

There was no way I could speak at that moment. My face was the color of a tomato and if I were a cartoon, there would be smoke coming out of my ears while a whistle sounded.

"I really just don't even wanna talk about it. Seriously. Distract me or I'll turn around and if I do that, I may not have a job tomorrow."

"Um...you should put your seatbelt on," Rose said lowly.

I laughed grimly, "You should put your seatbelt on."

I didn't even really know why I was so upset. Jake's relationship was none of my business. Yet somehow, I found myself defending this woman that I barely tolerated to her fiancé who was also my friend and employer. This could not end well.

We drove the rest of the way to the house in silence. I put Rage Against the Machine on my iPod and turned on the transmitter. I made it loud enough that talking was unnecessary.

I just couldn't get Leah's face out of my mind. She would be crushed if she knew what Jake had been thinking, let alone doing. She loved him, I was sure. He loved her too. I really don't know why he was going on about having feelings for me. That man has been so confused the past few months. I honestly think they had gotten caught up in the craziness of wedding planning. I hear it can get pretty intense. I wonder how many marriages would actually start off on a better foot, both emotionally and financially, if they were married at a courthouse instead of "The Plaza".

Suddenly, Edward's face popped into my head. I felt a surge of lust shoot through my body followed by one of anger. I couldn't even imagine what Leah was going through and I think a bit of my outburst at Jake had to do with feeling that I, myself, was...I don't know, not good enough? Honestly, what had Leah done to deserve the way Jake was treating her? Sure, she was swamped and stressed out, but she was still the woman who loved him.

It made me completely insecure to realize that nothing is ever set in stone. Even after asking her to marry him, Jake was still unsure of how he felt. How would I ever be enough for someone looking the way that I did? Not thin enough to deserve wanting someone as hot as Edward, that's for damn sure. But he was simply beautiful. Intelligent, handsome, funny. How could anyone not want him? We really did have a lot in common and man, could that boy kiss.

**

EPOV

I made it to Alice and Jasper's place with plenty of time to spare. After I parked the car, I started the small hike through the trail from the lot to their building in the development. I still cannot believe that my baby sister had fallen for my best friend. They never even ran in the same social circles since they were so far apart in age. The only thing they had in common was me but based on their interactions in my presence, I never would have guessed that my sister was plotting to snag Jasper.

Alice had just graduated from NC State's graduate program at the College of Design in December and she requested that I bring Jasper with me to the graduation ceremony. I was a little confused seeing as how she had only met him once at his and my college graduation years before. He also thought it was a little strange and told me many times that if I couldn't find a date, he'd be glad to set me up with someone. After I kicked his ass, I told him that Alice specifically asked him to be there and he was just as puzzled as I was. Apparently, she had planned this out quite well for years. Alice knew exactly what she was doing.

When we got there, Alice greeted us with her graduation robe folded neatly over her shoulder. She was wearing a knee length black spaghetti strap dress and had her hair in slick pincurls around her face. I tried to find my baby sister in there somewhere, but all I could see was a beautiful young woman. She flirted with Jasper for a good twenty minutes before the coordinator tracked her down to get in her spot in line. She threw her robe on and left to get in line, blowing a kiss in our direction. I knew that shit wasn't meant for me and I almost beat his ass again trying to find out what was going on.

He was clueless. After the ceremony, my parents took us all out to dinner and she and Jasper sat in deep conversation for the majority of the meal. They've been that way ever since. Six months after that night, Alice convinced Jasper that he should move in with her. That was about 4 months ago. It's still so new and they moved so fast, but they seem so sure.

I wish I could be that sure about a relationship.

I reached the top of the steps and rounded the corner to their door. Alice threw the door open before I even brought my hand up to knock.

"Hey big brother!" she said cheerfully as she hugged me.

"Hey Ali, how's it going?"

"Oh, wonderfully. We are going to have such a good time tonight, don't you think?"

"We? Are you coming with us?" I said a silent prayer that she would so that I would have a buffer between Jasper and myself.

"Yes I am. Emmett had extra tickets and gave one to me."

"Glad to have you along, little bit."

I was very happy to have Alice with us. At least I had someone to talk to as Jasper kept his eyes on the road. It seemed that he couldn't pay much attention to anything else. Alice tried to keep me talking the whole time but the ride was still frigid.

We got to the game without Jasper saying a single word to me. I was almost afraid to find out what was bothering him because he didn't usually shut me out like this even when we'd had arguments in the past. I might have asked him if it wasn't for my sister being with us.

We found our seats, three in a row, and I was wondering where Bruiser was going to sit just when I heard a booming "Hey fuckers!" from behind me. I spun around to see the tank walking towards us. Directly behind him was his blonde bombshell and Bella.

I felt my insides squeeze together. I didn't know she was going to be here. Is it going to be awkward? Is she going to out me in front of everybody?

Will she want to sit by me?

My hands kept wringing together like a little old man with arthritis as the three of them approached us.

"Hey ladies!" Alice chimed in. "Come on, we can all sit together!"

She excused herself from between Jasper and I and the three girls moved to the three empty seats in the row in front of us. Bella was directly in front of me, with Rose to her left, and Alice at the end. Jasper moved next to me so Thor wouldn't have to step over him to get to us.

As they settled into their seats, I couldn't help feeling a little empty as I looked down at Bella and felt an unexpected tug to be closer her. She looked so cute in her baseball jersey that matched Rosalie's. Her hair was in loose waves that fell past her shoulders and when the wind blew, it would swirl around her neck.

When she turned to the left to talk to the girls, I could see how nicely the top of the shirt hugged her chest and I felt a familiar tightening in my pants.

I wriggled around in my seat a little to try to readjust myself in the hopes that no one would notice the tent I was erecting. Thomas the Tank Engine noticed my little booty dance and his eyes glanced down at my pants before chuckling to himself and turning his attention back to the field. Tunnel vision, my ass. He is more astute than Bella gives him credit for. I'm going to have to really watch myself with that guy.

**

BPOV

Wow, he didn't even make eye contact with me. He can stick his tongue down my throat but can't look me in the eye. Asshole.

That's fine. He may not be able to look at my eyes, but I can get him to look at other body parts.

I turned to talk to Rose, making sure sure the girls were front and center, as perky as possible. A gust of wind blew and before I knew it, I was cutting glass. Perfect.

I saw him out of the corner of my eye squirming in his seat. How lucky for women that men loved boobs so much. A little nipple goes a long way.

As the game was finally getting started, there was a pop-up to left field and the outfielder came running in like he had a purpose, then promptly missed the ball because the sun was hitting him right in the face. I swore like a sailor and the guy in the seat to my right chuckled at me.

"Heh. Sorry. That wasn't very ladylike of me."

"That's OK. It's nice to see a girl get excited over sports."

"I really only care when I'm actually at a sporting event. Watching it on TV just isn't the same."

"I agree. I try to get out to games as much as possible. I'm Erik," he held his hand out for me to shake.

Erik had beautiful dark black hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked like he would be very tall standing up. His eyes bore into mine as I took his hand and noticed that he had a very strong grip.

"Bella. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. This is my buddy, James." He pointed at the man to his right and I gave him a courtesy head nod.

Three innings later and I had found out that Erik and James were both from up north, Pennsylvania to be exact. It seemed that they were exceedingly proud of the fact that they were from Scranton where The Office was set. Apparently the show was very close to the real thing and that cracked them up.

They had both majored in IT and met at college becoming fast friends. After they graduated, they decided to move to an area rich in computer science and settled on the Triangle.

By the end of the fifth inning, we had been talking and flirting so much that Erik asked if he could have my phone number. I complied and read the number out loud to him so he could enter it into his phone.

I still hadn't forgotten about Edward even though he had clearly forgotten about me. He didn't make any effort to speak to either of us even after he heard that they were in computers like he was.

I felt a tapping on my shoulder and got chills. Finally. I turned around to see Rose smiling me and my good spirits dissipated.

"Hey, come to the ladies with me? Em's gonna go get us something to nosh on. And Jasper's gonna get the guys some beer."

"Sure." I turned to Erik and excused myself.

Alice let Rose and me out and after Emmett and Jasper had left their row, she joined her brother in the back row.

He glared at me as we walked past and I felt sick to my stomach. What the fuck is going on?

**

EPOV

I couldn't believe she gave that douchebag her phone number. All he did was blow smoke up her ass during the entire conversation. Luckily for me I memorized the number as soon as she said it and when she got up with Rose, I punched it into my phone.

I honestly don't know when I became so stalkerish, but my justification was that that guy is no better than I am, so there's no reason why I shouldn't have her number too.

My sister came to sit by me but we really didn't talk that much. The game was still going on and now that I didn't have to overhear Bella and dickhead's conversation, I was free to pay attention.

"Oh come on man, it's going to be so easy. Like shooting pufferfish in a barrel."

Erik high-fived James and brought my attention back to them.

"I don't know man. Just because she's big doesn't mean she's going to just give it up."

Excuse me?

"What are you fucking kidding me? Of course it does. What are the chances that a fatty like that is actually getting any? She'd probably beg me for it."

What a fucking asshole. There is no way I'm going to let Bella anywhere near this scumbag. Although I did wonder if she would believe me or if she would just think I was jealous. I mean, I was initially, but who in their right mind would be jealous of a loser like him.

Erik chuckled to himself and then elbowed his friend, "Hey James, how do you fuck a fat chick?"

James rolled his eyes and smiled waiting for Erik to give his punchline.

"You roll her in flour and find the wet spot!"

Oh, I don't fucking think so.

"Shut your mouth, mother fucker," I snarled as I launched myself at him while my arms acted of their own accord. My right fist connected with his jaw and he crouched down. His friend came at me over the seats but I lifted my foot up and kicked him in the chest. I heard my sister scream and I yelled for her to get back.

Erik had gotten back up and jumped up to stand on the seat. He was towering over me and fell down on top of me. I was laying on the floor of our row as he kneed me in the gut and started punching me in the throat and the side of the head.

I heard Alice shriek and saw her coming towards us. She tried to push him off of me but he shoved her really hard and she fell down on her ass.

Suddenly I heard a male voice and realized that Jasper has returned with the beer that was now thrown on the ground. He tried to get to Erik when he saw him push Alice but I was still under him so I got to him first.

"That's my sister you son of a bitch," I wrapped my hands together in a double fist and punched him as hard as I could in the sternum and he went down. He was rolling around on the ground, barely breathing and gasping for air.

The security guards were on us by then and separated us to escort us out of different gates. As they were pushing us up the stairs to the main aisle, we saw the girls and the big guy coming towards us with shocked faces. Jasper and I were restrained by the two security guards but Alice ran to them. My eyes went wide wondering if she was going to tell them what that asshole had said.

From what I could hear, she didn't tell Bella what Erik had said, just that there was a fight and we had to leave. Bella kept pushing and wanted to know why I hit him. She was so confused and getting really irate with me as we got to the gate of the stadium.

"Jasper and I are going to go get the cars. We'll be right back. Try not to start another fight while we're gone. Think you can handle that?" The meathead looked at me when he spoke so I flipped him off.

Alice wouldn't leave Jasper's side, so she left to go with him to his car. Quasimodo walked off to get his car and Rosalie ran after him at the last second. It was just me and Bella. I sat on the bench outside and she sat at the other end. It was eerily quiet for a few minutes until she finally spoke.

"What happened in there, Edward?"

"Nothing. It was just a misunderstanding," I lied.

"Well then why did you hit Erik? Did he do something to you?"

"No, he didn't do anything to me." Not directly, at least.

"Did he hurt Alice? She seemed pretty shaken up."

I didn't even know what to say at that point. I just stayed silent.

"Damnit Edward. I would really like you to tell me what the fight was about."

I blew out a gust of air. What was the point of lying to her?

"He said something he shouldn't have...about you."

"Oh," she paused. "Well, what did he say?"

"It was crude Bella. It was disgusting and untrue."

"Edward, just fucking tell me or I'll hit you next."

I glanced over to her and she looked like she actually meant it. There was fire in her eyes.

"He said that he wanted to fuck you and that you'd be an easy lay." There was no way in hell I was going to tell her the rest of it. She didn't deserve that.

"Oh."

"Yeah, so I decked him."

"You hit him...because he said that about me?" She was staring at me but I was afraid to meet her eyes. I had acted like a jerk, getting in a fight like I was still a teenager. Granted, it was for a good cause. But still, it wasn't very mature.

"Yeah. Plus he shoved Alice when she was trying to stop the fight and no one gets to pick on my sister but me." I knew I sounded like a five year-old and I didn't care.

"Edward, look at me."

Oh no. There it was. You're a jerk. You're an asshole. You're a child. I already knew all of that. I really didn't want to hear it from Bella's lips too.

She got off the bench and kneeled down in front of me but I wouldn't, couldn't look at her. I kept my eyes lowered to the ground by my shoes.

Bella reached out her hand and put her fingers under my chin. She lifted my head until my eyes met hers. They were filled with compassion and tears.

Her other hand reached out to touch my cheek. I assumed it was already bruising because it hurt when she grazed my cheekbone.

She leaned forward and placed her lips on mine.

I kissed her back hard. I wanted to show her that what that dick had said was so far from the truth. She was a human being like anyone and should be respected. She was a kind person. She was Bella.

The fight must have made me dizzy because I was very unsteady. I leaned forward and fisted my hands in her hair to keep me grounded.

She broke the kiss and leaned back to look at me. She came back to my mouth and placed another small kiss on my lips before getting up and sitting back on the bench.

"Thank you," she said softly.

I pulled out my phone and opened up a new text message, you're welcome.

She smiled and saved my number just as the guys drove the cars up to the curb. I got in Jasper's car and Bella got in with Rosalie and Biggie.

I saw her sweet eyes watching mine as she drove away and thought to myself...it was worth it.

**

A/N: Nothing more to say down here. Thank you for reading and reviewing.