AN: So it hasn't been too much longer than a week…that's good, right?

Special thanks to the amazing ladies who work on this: my betas ginginlee and sparklingtwilight, and my prereaders: lizzylillyrose and morethanmyself. I really love them a whole lot.

Thank you to those who review…I will start sending replies; sorry I've been such a slacker. But I would love to see this story get more love, so please come out of hiding and say something. I would really like to hear from you!

Here we go…blast from the past again. Let's see how much trouble our lovely teenagers can get into…

Chapter 9

1987

"Bella!" I heard Charlie's voice call from the bottom of the steps as I finished hooking my earrings through my ears. "Bella, Bella, Bella…" he sang out repeatedly. Okay, now he was just being annoying.

"Uncle Charlie, I'm right here. Relax!" I teased lightly as I came down the stairs, ready to go out to Rachel's party.

"What are you wearing?" he immediately fired when I came into view.

"Clothes," I retorted with an eye roll, kissing him on the cheek before I went into the living room to grab my over-night bag.

He sneered at me and crossed his arms over his chest, blocking my path to the door.

"Isabella," he began, "you told me that you were spending the night at Rachel's house. Why would you be dressed like that if you were being honest with me? Are there going to be boys there? Is that where you're really going? Are you planning on having relations," he sneered, "with Edward tonight? You're too young. You barely know him!" His face was becoming all flushed, and I needed to figure a way out of this. I knew he wouldn't be that easy to convince about the party tonight. Charlie was really smart…he should have been a cop.

I decided to go with the act-naïve-and-then-divert route. "Are you accusing me of lying to you?" I asked in mock horror, placing my hands on my hips, trying to keep my smile from breaking through.

"Well…"

"I happen to like my skirt," I said hurtfully, smoothing out the light gray material. "Besides, didn't my mom tell you? I'm swinging both ways these days. The sleepover with Rachel is really just a time to experiment. Mom always said: you never know until you try!" I shrugged innocently, even though a smile did break through; pulling his chain was just seriously too easy…I almost felt bad for the poor guy. His face turned place white, and it took him a few moments to regain his composure.

Stammering, he said, "What's, uh, Edward doing, um, tonight? Don't you want to hang out with him? You guys have been getting close, right?"

I took a second to look deep in thought, as if I were really considering what he was saying, before shrugging. "I don't know! Haven't talked to him much. Rachel and I kind of spent the whole day at the river together," I lied easily, enjoying this torture.

Right then, there was a knock at the door, and Charlie turned around to open it, still eyeing me warily.

"Hi, Mr. Swan!" Rachel said cheerfully, causing him to blush deeply.

"Hi, Rachel," he choked out, an octave higher than normal. He ushered her in and Rachel came up to give me a hug, and as soon as she did, I winked right in Charlie's direction.

"So, uh," he rushed out, "what do you girls have planned for tonight?" He was pulling at the collar of his shirt, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh, you know," Rachel started with a wave of her hand, "just girl stuff – gossiping, truth or dare. We have a pool, so we might even go swimming," she offered.

"I heard a rumor that skinny dipping was a popular activity around here," I added. "Maybe we could try that out!" I sounded excited, looking between my uncle and Rachel.

Rachel, unknowingly, played along great. "Sure! I have a hot tub, too."

"Okay, enough!" Charlie yelled, throwing his hands up to his ears. "I don't want to hear anymore! Just go, okay?"

I smiled victoriously, having successfully diverted his attention from harassing me about my outfit while keeping him from asking too many questions about tonight, as well. Him wanting me to spend more time with Edward was just an added bonus. I purposefully looped my arm through Rachel's, for added affect, and kissed Uncle Charlie on the cheek before I left the house.

"What was all that about?" Rachel asked as we pulled out of my driveway in her car.

"I pretty much led on that we were lesbians so he wouldn't get suspicious of tonight," I responded evenly, not at all embarrassed. It was kind of weird that I had just met this girl earlier that day, but she seemed cool enough. Besides, if she ended up not liking me, it really didn't matter. I was only here for a summer…it wasn't like I was ever going to see her again after these few months.

"Nice!" She laughed, pleasantly surprising me. Maybe I could really like this girl, after all.

"So what's really the deal for tonight, anyway?" I asked as she messed with the radio.

"People will probably start showing up in an hour or so. My older brother is having people over, too, so it will be pretty big. We'll have a bonfire out back and the pool will be open and stuff. You can borrow a bathing suit of mine if you didn't bring one," she offered. "Even though, one probably won't be necessary." She laughed again.

"Sounds good to me." I smiled genuinely. I wasn't at all new to the party scene…I was a seventeen-year-old girl, who lived in Ohio, no less. The only thing we had to do up there on the weekends was party. But I had a feeling this one would be a lot different than the ones I was used to, and I was definitely okay with that.

I was taken by surprise, though, when we pulled up to her house. No one bothered to mention that Rachel was loaded. I didn't think I had seen a bigger house in my entire life. There was a high metal gate we had to get through after she entered a password, the round-a-bout driveway was bordered with elaborate stone statues, and the three garages alone were bigger than my house and Charlie's house combined.

"Uh, wow," I stammered, mouth slack.

She shrugged and said, "Tobacco," in explanation.

I didn't quite get it, but I wasn't going to be rude and press for more information on her family's wealth. She parked her car in one of the garages that actually attached to the house, and we walked in the side door. She led me through the hallway, pass the grand kitchen, and up the rich wooden staircase.

"This is my room," she said, opening the double doors to her personal space. "You can just put your bag in here." We walked inside and I sat down on her queen sized bed. The walls were painted light yellow, and she had bright pink and orange accent colors all throughout the room. The bedspread, though, was lime green with neon blue pillow cases. I felt like I was in a bubble of color, being harassed by their intensity.

Rachel wandered over to her attached bathroom and walk in closest. "You can come in here, Bella," she called. "We can just get ready in here before everyone else shows up."

Get ready? I thought I already was ready, looking down at my outfit.

"Oh, okay," I stated, joining her anyway.

"You're welcome to use my make-up, and I can curl your hair when I'm done with mine if you want," she offered kindly, not at all pushy about it, either, which was nice.

I found myself smiling. Rachel, even though sometimes intimidating and I knew I couldn't quite figure her out, was being considerably nice. She had no idea who I was…I was just some stranger, yet, here she was, sincerely acting as if we had been friends for years.

"That would be great," I found myself saying, actually meaning it.

"I'm going to put on some music, is that all right?" she asked as she walked back into her room.

"Sure," I agreed, looking at all the makeup on her counter.

Madonna's Papa Don't Preach came blaring through the speakers of her radio, and she came back into the room singing and dancing along with the song.

"The one you warned me all about, the one you said I could do without, we're in an awful mess, and I don't mean maybe – please!" she sang loudly, doing her own little dance.

"Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep," I joined in, singing along. "Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep. But I made up my mind, I'm keeping my baby, oh…I'm gonna keep my baby, mmm..."

We both picked up a hairbrush and got really into the song, shaking our hips and making our movements elaborate. She and I fell into a fit of giggles as soon as the song ended, both of us enjoying being ridiculous and carefree, just the way teenagers should act.

"Okay, okay," she said after she caught her breath. "Let's get busy!" We smiled at each other, looked in the mirror, and got to work.

O.o

With Rachel's insistence on being fashionably late – even to her own party – we waited until we saw a good amount of people accumulating outside before making our way downstairs. I was still wearing my fitted, short gray skirt and a simple almost sheer loose tank top. Rachel decided to wear a very revealing pair of jean shorts, a tucked in dark gray tank, and a cut off leather jacket to go on top. Her reddish hair was curled and pulled into a lower side ponytail, while my light brown hair now slightly wavy, thanks to Rachel, and hung simply past my shoulders.

"God, Jamie, you look like such a douche," Rachel commented to a man who looked a couple years older than us, with blond, slicked back hair, as we left her room and went down the stairs.

"Shut it, Ray," he shot back, giving her a nasty look before looking over at me. "Who's this?" he asked more kindly, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

"No one who wants to be around your slimy ass," she retorted, pulling me down the stairs.

"I'll see you later, Ray Ray!" he yelled, laughing, causing Rachel to huff in annoyance.

We reached the bottom of the steps, and she continued to hold onto my hand as she led me to the kitchen. There wasn't anyone in here, but there were red and blue cups, beer bottles, and a lot of liquor bottles lined up on the counter.

"Sorry about that," she issued. "That's Jamie, my big brother. Want a drink?" she asked more positively, walking over to the counter with the cups.

"Here, put your name on it," she instructed, handing me a red cup with a permanent marker. I quickly scribbled Bella as she did the same to hers. "So, what do you want?" she asked, motioning with her hand to the available drinks.

"I'll just take a beer," I answered, and she walked over to the fridge to pull me out a drink. "How much do I owe you for this?" I asked, wanting to contribute monetarily for the drinks they provided.

She just laughed and waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't even worry about it. Jamie buys it all."

"Are you sure?" I asked guiltily, not wanting to seem like a mooch.

"You're sweet to offer, Bella, but seriously, don't worry about it."

I smiled at her and went on to pour my beer while she made some drink with pop and vodka.

"Ladies!" a guys called from the patio door that was attached to the kitchen, and when I lifted my head, I saw Riley strutting into the kitchen already having a drink in hand. "It's about time you guys came of out hiding. Eddie and I were about to come beat down your bedroom door." He laughed and went to pour himself another drink.

I had yet to talk to Riley after the whole "almost-drowning-Bella"incident that had happened that afternoon, and I didn't really feel like having that conversation right then, either. Besides, I came here to see Edward, anyway…

"Edward's here already?" I piped up, causing both of them to look at me knowingly before smirking at each other.

"Oh yeah, Ohio, he's out back," Riley said casually, resting his forearms and the island countertop.

"I'm just going to, uh," I motioned to the door, "go find him." I took my cup from the counter and headed outside. As promised, there was a fire going a little bit away, but the pool area was right in front of me, and there were already a ton of people in there. I glanced around, not seeing Edward, and decided to walk over to where the fire was.

People glanced at me as I walked but, for the most part, didn't pay me much attention. There were some people sitting on the logs around the pit, and then there were some standing, but I still didn't see Edward anywhere. I turned around to walk back into the house to find Rachel when I ran into someone.

I stepped back, startled, but luckily didn't spill any of my drink down my shirt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I rushed out, trying to get a look at the guy. I saw the bright blue tank top and when my eyes reached his face, I recognized who it was.

"Don't apologize, baby doll," he cooed, slicking his hand back through his hair, trying, I supposed, to look attractive while doing so.

I stepped aside to walk away when he grabbed onto my elbow, not tightly, but enough to get me to turn back around and face him.

"I never did get your name, pretty thing," he slurred into my ear, thankfully then releasing my arm.

"Bella," I stated, not offering my hand or anything.

"Beautiful Bella," he replied. "I'm Jamie, Rachel's brother."

"Yeah, um, nice to meet you," I said awkwardly, looking around for any familiar face.

"Are you sleeping here tonight?" he asked, something about his tone rubbing me the wrong way.

"Maybe," I answered, even though I had already planned on it.

"Well, there are plenty of beds here," he laughed, motioning to the large house, "so you are more than welcomed to stay."

"Thanks, that's really nice to offer." I tried to smile genuinely, but I was sure it came out more as a grimace.

"Bella! There you are!" I felt arms wrap around my waist from behind, and I automatically relaxed in the embrace. "Jamie, nice to see ya, man," Edward said in his direction. "So I see you've met Bella," he offered next, squeezing me a bit tighter.

Jamie looked back and forth between Edward and me before a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, she just practically groped me. Better keep a tighter leash on that one; I can already tell she's trouble," he replied, causing me to roll my eyes and Edward to stiffen a bit.

"Oh really?" Edward responded. "Bella, I was just about to go inside, and it looks like you need another drink, care to come with me?" he asked, even though it was clear that my cup was still full.

However, I simply nodded, and Edward removed his arms from my waist but grabbed my free hand instead, pulling me away from the fire.

"I wasn't groping him," I rushed out after we were a few good feet away. "I accidentally ran into him when I was looking for you."

Edward just hummed and held my hand tighter, offering me a small smile.

"Where are we going?" I asked, confused as we bypassed the entry way to get back into the house. Instead, he took me around to the right, going under some porch. It was really dark, all light from the moon blocked from the wooden panels above us. "Edward?" I asked again.

"Shhh," he hushed.

We walked a little bit further, and I held onto his whole arm then, not trusting my feet to keep me upright. I not so accidentally kept my face close to his plaid-covered bicep, noticing that he smelled like a hint of cinnamon. It was more inviting than overwhelming, which I was thankful for.

"Are you smelling me?" he whispered, laughing a bit, too.

"Hey, man, if you're leading me to my death, I wanted a good last smell of my captor."

We slowed down our pace, but my response caused him to laugh harder. "You and your conspiracy theories about me leading you off to these secluded places to kill you." He shook his head. "I'm beginning to think there's something wrong up there in that pretty head of yours."

"Why don't you just tell me where we're going?" I suggested, ignoring that he basically called me pretty.

"Here," he answered, stopping his movements and handing me his cup. "Hold this for me." He dug around in his back pocket and pulled out a lighter, igniting it to use for light. I could vaguely see a hanging wooden swing in front of us, and he walked over towards it, sitting down on one end, leaving space for me.

"How did you know this was back here?" I questioned, coming to sit down next to him. By now, our eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I could make out basic shapes. Edward took his drink back from my hand and brought it to his lips before answering my question.

"Rachel has a lot of these parties," he said after swallowing his mouthful. "After a while, they get pretty lame, so I just explore. Have you seen the size of this house?" He laughed, and I nodded in agreement. "I could be friends with Rachel for the next twenty years and not find every cool hiding spot this house offers."

"It's quiet here," I observed, taking a sip of my own beer. We were far enough away that we could barely make the sounds that were coming from the party outback. "I think my killing conspiracies are very justified considering you bring me to these secluded spots," I joked, earning another beautiful chuckle.

"Just don't go off with anyone except for me, okay?" he said more seriously after a moment.

"Jealous, are we?" I laughed, nudging his shoulder. "Afraid some other southern gentleman is going to sweep me off my feet with his strange hideouts?"

"Well, that too." He placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me so my body was flush against his. "I just don't trust every one that comes to these parties." He was still serious as he spoke, and it made the hair on my arms prick up.

"What do you mean?"

"What were you doing talking to Jamie out by the fire?" he asked, not sounding angry, just concerned.

"Edward, really, we were doing anything. I told you, I ran into him, he introduced himself, asked if I was staying over with Rachel, and then you came up. It was nothing."

"Are you?" he responded.

"Am I what?"

"Staying over here tonight…"

"Yeah, I was planning on it. My bag is upstairs in Rachel's room, and I told Charlie I would be out till morning."

"Come out with me tonight," he suggested excitedly as he turned his body so he was facing me more, our legs still touching but his arm no longer around me.

"What?" I wished I could see his eyes to know if he was joking or not. "Edward, I don't know…"

"Come on, Bella," he pleaded. "I have a spot for us."

"Um…can't you just, you know, stay here with us?" I asked, referring to Rachel and I. I didn't know how comfortable I felt going off with Edward alone. I still barely knew the guy. I didn't really know Rachel either, but at least if I stayed here, I would be in a house full of people.

"Well, just think about it."

"Where would we go?" I asked, not agreeing to his offer, just out of curiosity.

"There's this field…" he began.

"A field?" I almost shouted. "You want me to spend the night in a field?"

"Bella, don't be such a girl."

"There are ton of beds here," I countered. "Can't you just stay here…with me? Besides, we both have been drinking. Driving is just not a smart idea."

He leaned back on the bench and put his arm back around me. "Yeah, driving would be stupid," he commented. "I guess I didn't think of that."

I mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

"But promise me you'll go there with me sometime," he said, excited again. "It really is beautiful, and on clear nights like this, you can see stars for miles," he painted the image with his words, elaborating his point with the use of his hands.

He was seriously enthusiastic about this spot. "Okay, okay," I surrendered with a smile. "I'll go, but let's have our first trip out there be in the daytime," I compromised.

"Daytime…" he repeated, not sounding that thrilled.

"Yeah, it can be our first date," I offered lightly with a bright smile.

"A date, huh?" he asked back, and I could finally see him smile through the darkness.

"Yup! You can pack us a picnic and everything."

"Look at you, planning out our first date. Shouldn't that be my job?" he teased.

"Well, if you're not going to step up to the plate and do it, mister, the lady just has to take charge."

He laughed and took another drink. "You are so different than any other girl I've met before, Bella. I don't even know what to do with you." He shook his head and laughed lightly.

"Oh, I'm not that difficult, Edward," I replied, embarrassed that I might have gone too far.

"That's not what I meant," he rebutted seriously. He turned his face towards mine so our noses were almost touching, and it felt like all the air had been sucked out of my body. "I meant," he paused, taking a deep breath, "that I think," he moved in a bit closer, "you are," he moved his head to the side, using his free hand to rub my face gently, "amazing."

After he breathed out the last syllable, his lips gently pressed into mine. My eyes automatically closed, and when I registered what he was doing, I kissed him back. His lips didn't move from mine for a long moment as he used his hand to cradle the back of my neck, keeping us joined together. The kiss was probably shorter than it seemed, but it was so innocent, pure even.

When he pulled away, he ran his nose softly against my own, leaning back in for another chaste, soft kiss.

"Yes, Bella," he whispered, "simply amazing."

XX

END NOTES:

First kiss…swoon! What did you guys think about it?

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xoxo – kas

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