Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

Chapter Two

Two years ago…

I need to talk with you tonight.

I read and reread his text from this morning, trying to fight the anxiety bubbling up. No smiley face or any other silly emoji he'd usually send. And when I asked what was going on, he responded asking if I was available to skype tonight.

And now I find myself sitting on my bed, my laptop up and running, and reading the last several days of texts exchanged between us, waiting for him to get online.

The skype call startles me, and I take a few seconds to compose myself. I slide the mouse to the green circle, and, with shaky fingers, answer the call. "Hi!" I attempt a light, happy tone, but it comes out sounding squeaky.

The camera is delayed in starting up, and when his image finally pops up, I get a view of the messy copper hair on the top of his head. He runs his hands over his face before looking into the camera. Despite the distressed demeanor, he allows a small smile to break through. "Nervous, Swan?"

"You can't just spring the we need to talk text in the morning and make me wait until the end of the day to actually talk to me," I try to sound stern, but seeing him makes the anxiety fade a little, so I'm smiling now, too. "You look pretty stressed, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he breathes. His left hand reaches up and tangles in his hair, and I know he's not being honest with me. His hair is longer now, and my fingers itch to join his, to see if his hair is as soft as it looks. "Bella, I don't think I can do this anymore."

"What?" I feel my heart stop, plummeting low in my stomach as I take in his grim expression. Tears blur my vision without my consent, and I know he can see them on his screen. "You don't want to be friends anymore?"

"Bella, don't cry, please-"

"Did I do something wrong?" I cut him off, roughly wiping my tears away.

He groans. "No, Bella, fuck. That's not- please stop crying."

I stiff, laugh at myself, at the situation I've gotten myself into, and then sob. "Just tell me, Edward."

My arms wrap around my torso, my gaze falling to my lap. I shake my head, chuckling at myself again. Jacob's departing words float through my head from over a year ago.

"Bella, Sweetheart, please look at me," Edward begs. Unable to deny him, I look at him. "I shouldn't have started like that and I am so, so sorry. Of course I want to be your friend. Please, don't ever doubt that."

"Then what is it?"

Edward swallows, clears his throat, and looks so incredibly nervous. "I've been- I-" he lets out a frustrated noise. "I'minlovewithyou."

He says the words so fast I don't catch them all, but my heart starts racing at what I think I heard. "Edward?"

He leans forward a little in his chair, close enough to see the bright green of his eyes. "I can't just sit here and pretend like you're just a friend when you're so much more than that. And I know we live on opposite sides of the country and long distance is hard, but fuck, we've been friends for this long, we can make it work, right?"

Edward stops suddenly, deflating a little. "Or is it just me? Do you just see me as a friend?"

I'm crying again, small, happy tears that I let fall down my cheeks. "Can you say it again? Slower this time."

"I'm so in love with you, Bella." His hands are in his hair again, he still looks nervous, but his mouth curves up into a small smile as he repeats himself.

"Long distance is hard," I say, hiding my smile behind my hand.

"I know it is," his voice is a sad whisper, his eyes casting downward.

"You really think we can do it?"

His head snaps up, eyes wide. "What?"

I giggle, unable to control it. "I'm in love with you too, Edward. I have been for a while."

Edward rests his head on his desk for a split second before he raises it to beam at me through our screens, and I do something I've wanted to do for the last year on our skype calls- I reach out and stroke the side of his face with my finger. "I'm going to be honest, I thought you were going to friendzone me."

I shake my head, my cheeks aching with how wide my smile is.