So I know that I suck. I haven't updated in forever, and I know that. But here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Edward and Bella aren't mine. -sigh-

BPOV

After that first day in the library, Edward and I had a very touch-and-go relationship. There were days I could tell from his body posture and apologetic grimace that he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. So I acted like I didn't know him. And then there were other days, and those were the ones I looked forward to. Those were the days when it seemed like he was waiting for me to begin conversation.

Every so often, Edward would join Jasper, Alice, and I during study hall, sitting at the same table with us, but not speaking. Alice knew not to push it, and Jasper, having been around him for so long, would merely smile and scoot over, giving him a place to sit.

This had only happened a handful of times, but I still had hope. It wasn't even that I wanted Edward to like me anymore. I was grateful for him just being my friend.

Alice had become popular with Charlie, and as a result, had been spending the night every weekend for a month. It was nice to have friends since I had been mostly alone in Phoenix. Renee still called, but I found myself complaining less and less about Forks.

Jasper and Alice were dating. That had happened after their first date when Alice nearly passed out from excitement. Rosalie and I were happy for her, and I could tell that Edward was happy for his friend.

"Bella!" Alice called, shaking me out of my thoughts. I looked around for her and smiled when I saw her. She had Jasper by the wrist, dragging him with her. I chuckled.

"Yeah, Alice?"

She grinned widely. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

"Of course, Ali, of course," I said. It was Friday night, and she was scheduled to come over, as usual.

"Good! I have plans." She winked, and I was instantly wary.

"What plans?" I asked slowly.

Jasper snickered, and I shot him a glare. "Oh, nothing, nothing," Alice said quickly with a wink toward Jasper.

"Alice, what are you planning?" She was up to something, I just knew it.

Alice bit her lip and began bouncing in place. She was trying to keep her plans to herself. Her eyes darted around suspiciously before she leaned in close. "We're setting Rose up with Edward's brother, Emmett!" She squealed, clapping her hands together.

My mind went blank. "We're . . . what?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "We're going to devise a plan to get Rose to go out with Emmett Cullen," she said slowly.

"Why?" I questioned. Rosalie hated Emmett. I didn't know how he felt about her, but he obviously had a thing for Tanya Denali. Who were we to interfere?

Alice sighed heavily. "Bella, you ruin everything. Because Edward told Jasper who told me that Emmett has a huge crush on Ro –"

"Who has a crush on who?" Rose asked, appearing out of nowhere.

Alice squeaked and mimed zipping her lips, her eyes widening by the second. Jasper laughed and kissed the top of her head, trying to ease her worry.

"Nothing," Alice said too quickly.

Rose arched an eyebrow. "Mhm. Whatever you say, Alice."

Alice smiled brightly. "Jasper and I are going to go find Em – Edward," she amended, shooting a worried glance at Rosalie.

Jasper grinned at her, and they went their own way. Rosalie began to mutter and walked down the hallway, shaking her head. I stayed by my locker for a few moments before heading toward the cafeteria to wait for the bell to ring.

As I was walking there, a flash of familiar bronze hair caught my eye. Edward was sitting on the ground in front of a tree, his face hidden by his hands. I didn't move for a long minute before cautiously walking toward him. As I got closer, the situation became clearer.

Edward was rocking in small movements, and I could've sworn I heard sobbing. I crouched down, setting my books on the ground.

"Edward?" I whispered, wanting to help him but not sure how to do that. He looked so vulnerable, so broken.

His head snapped up, and his green eyes were wide and tear-filled. "Bella?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's me, Edward. Are – Are you okay?"

He swallowed heavily before running a hand through his hair. He sighed quietly. "Yeah." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling quietly. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to sit for a little bit."

I wanted to ask him what I had witnessed but got the distinct feeling that he wanted me to drop it. "Do you want me to stay?"

He was quiet for a moment, lost in his thoughts. "Do whatever you want," he finally mumbled.

I sat in front of him, pulling my legs to my chest and resting my chin on my knees. My thoughts were still on what had happened, but I decided to go in a different direction. "Alice says that Emmett has a crush on Rosalie?"

Edward smiled slightly, silently laughing. "Yeah, he does."

"Wow. Never would've guessed with the way he follows Tanya Denali around."

Edward cringed. "He's . . . unsure. He's been asking me to set him up with Rosalie for months now. But he doesn't want to screw it up since Rosalie is so . . ." He paused, looking for the right word.

"Fiery?" I suggested.

Edward smiled. "We'll call it that." He ran a hand through his hair again nervously, gnawing on his lip. "Listen, Bella. Thanks for distracting me. I really appreciate it."

I shrugged and smiled. "It was nothing, Edward. Don't worry about it. I was just being a friend."

His demeanor suddenly shifted, and when he smiled, it was forced and icy. I recognized this look and instinctually stood up, grabbing my books. "I'll see you in class," I said quickly.

When I glanced back, he looked shocked, but the intensity of his previous look kept me away. I ran into Alice, Jasper, and Emmett who were hanging out in front of the cafeteria. Emmett looked desperate, and I remembered what Edward had said about Emmett liking Rose for a long time.

As the conversation came to a close, Alice spotted me and motioned me over. "Bella! Come here," she hissed, looking around for Rose again. I followed orders, knowing better than to defy Alice.

"Emmett, this is Bella Swan," Alice said, introducing us quickly.

"Oh, I know," Emmett said with a wink. "You're a little cutie. No wonder Edward is –"

"We're not talking about Edward," Jasper interrupted, throwing Emmett a disapproving glare.

Emmett scowled but nodded. "So what's the plan?"

"We don't know yet," Alice admitted. "Bella and I are going to come up with it tonight. But please, Emmett," Alice sighed heavily, "don't be an ass. She doesn't really like you now. If you come off as more of a jerk, she'll never get near you."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't be an ass."

"Thank you." Alice grinned as the bell rang. She scowled like she could stop the bell with her mind. When that didn't work, she sighed. "All right. See you at lunch, Jasper," Alice murmured, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Actually, Alice, I think I'll be sitting with Edward today," Jasper said, smiling sadly.

Alice nodded. "All right. Bella, Rose, and I will be in our usual place then. I'll miss you." I turned to go to class, unable to endure more of Alice's sadness. I felt Emmett's presence behind me as I walked.

He chuckled quietly. "He talks about you constantly," he breathed before abruptly disappearing into a classroom. I shivered at how creepy he had just sounded. Edward appeared out of nowhere.

"What did Emmett want?" he asked in a hard voice.

"N-Nothing," I answered, stammering slightly. "Nothing. We were talking about him and Rosalie."

"Oh." His shoulders lost the tense edge to them, and he seemed to relax. "So he didn't . . . ask you out?" he asked, purposely looking away.

"No," I chuckled. "But he did say I was cute." I scoffed quietly.

"Oh, yeah?" Edward murmured in a disinterested voice.

"Mhm."

We walked silently for a while before Edward finally said, "Cool." I realized we were at my first period class. "See you in Biology," he said, turning around and walking the other way without another word.

I stared after Edward, shocked. Did Edward just... walk me to class? I spent the entire first half of the day dissecting our three-minute conversation. He had to have been walking me to class if his class was back the other way. Maybe he'd just lost track of time and walked past the classroom.

But how could he do that? He never had any other social obligations. There wasn't any reason for him to pass his first class unless he really was walking me to class.

I finally began to accept that he walked me to class because we hadn't exactly finished the conversation. He was probably just waiting to see if I would say anything else.

At lunch, Jasper and Edward sat together, speaking quietly. Alice, Rose, and I sat at our normal table, chattering and making small talk. Alice sighed, forlorn, and glanced back at Jasper.

I smiled sadly at her. "Ali, if you miss him so much, just go sit by him."

Alice perked up and shook her head. "No. If he wants time with Edward, he can have that. I don't mind."

I smiled wryly. "Alice, you're not fooling anyone."

She groaned quietly and rested her head on the table. "You're right. I miss him."

"Then go sit by him," Rosalie chuckled.

"I can't," Alice moaned. "If he wanted to sit by me, he would be sitting by me. He wants to be with Edward. I mean, he's honestly been neglecting him to spend time with me, and he's really Edward's only friend during school." I frowned. Edward didn't think of me as his friend? "Besides you, Bella," Alice added, seeing my face. "But really, Jazz has been his only friend for a long time now. And I took him away. Do you think he hates me?"

"Edward doesn't hate you, Ali. As far as I can tell, he doesn't hate anyone. He just doesn't like people. He mostly prefers to be alone."

She sighed, glancing back at Jasper again. I followed her gaze. Jasper and Edward both looked up and smiled a little. I looked at Rosalie, who was pushing her food around on her plate.

Alice moaned and put her head down on the table again. "I can't take it anymore," she sighed.

"Take what anymore?" asked a familiar voice. Alice's head shot up off the table, and she grinned.

"Jazz!" she squealed, grasping his hand. "Hey, how are you? I mean, we were doing fine without you, but if you want to sit, I'm sure that we won't mind, right, guys?"

I snickered. "Yeah, we were fantastic without you, Jasper."

"I'm sure you were," came Edward's quiet voice. I looked up to see Edward behind him.

"Mind if we sit here?" Jasper asked, already pulling a chair up beside Alice.

"Sorry. Girls only," Rosalie teased.

Jasper winked. "I'm sure it is, Rose. I guess you'll have to make some exceptions."

Edward followed Jasper's lead and pulled a chair to the table, taking a seat beside me. "So what's new?" he mumbled. I frowned a little. He seemed to be speaking because he had to, not because he was interested in the conversation.

Already, he put his head down on the table, uninterested in anything else going on around him. I gently put a hand on his shoulder, trying to let him know I was there so I didn't startle him. It didn't work.

His shoulders tensed, and he flinched slightly. "What?" came his muffled, rough voice.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. I didn't want to draw attention to his behavior, but Jasper was shrewdly watching us, his eyes narrowed. Rosalie was still pushing her food around, and Alice was too enamored with Jasper to notice.

"Just tired," Edward replied, facing away from me as he shifted and kept his head on the table.

"Edward, you hungry?" Jasper asked, looking disappointed.

He shook his head, and Rosalie scoffed. "It's a damn good thing. This food is disgusting."

I smiled slightly as I watched his shoulders vibrate with what I hoped was laughter. "Pack your lunch. It helps," Edward advised quietly.

Rosalie's eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. "Um, thanks. I'll remember that next time."

Edward was silent the rest of lunch, but I noticed that Jasper looked happier. When the bell rang, Edward stood up without a word and left. Jasper watched him leave, and I could see the worry in his eyes. Everyone said their goodbyes, and I followed Edward to Biology.

He was silent in Biology, not offering conversation. Because of that, I left him alone. If he wanted to talk, he would talk, I reasoned. When the bell rang, he hung back for the first time, letting us walk together.

"How are you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm okay. You?"

Edward shrugged, and his body language shifted as we passed a group of people. He turned away, his shoulders hunching. I noticed Tanya Denali and his brother with them. Emmett's face was full of sadness as he glanced back at his adopted brother.

A girl with curly red hair appeared out of nowhere, smiling widely. "Hey, Edward. So what have you been up to?" Her eyes slid to me. "And who's this?" She scowled.

"Victoria, go away," he muttered, trying to move around her. However, she wasn't having any of it and walked backward as he continued to move forward.

"No. You were supposed to meet me a few days ago. Why didn't you?"

"I wasn't supposed to meet you," he said, his voice louder and angrier.

Her head cocked to the side. "Yes, you were. We were going to have some fun." Her lips curled into a sly grin.

"Victoria, you bitch, no, we fucking weren't! Stop bothering me!" he shouted, his hands clenching into fists.

Her eyes widened, and she finally seemed to get the message, backing away. "You know he's only going to use you then get rid of you," she sneered at me before slinking down the hallway.

I glanced at Edward, shocked and afraid. He was still angry, now stalking down the hallway toward study hall.

"Nothing ever happened between me and Victoria," he growled. "Nothing was ever going to happen between us. Just in case you were wondering."

I nodded shakily. "Yeah, I figured. I mean, I hoped that you weren't . . . you know."

Edward stopped abruptly and raked his hands through his hair. He turned around, his eyes gentle and pleading. "Forgive me for raising my voice and for cursing. That's not who I am anymore."

"Of course, Edward. She was bothering you. I understand."

"And don't listen to her about me using you. I'm not that person anymore, either."

"So I'm told." I smiled a little. "Come on. We're going to be late."

We made it to study hall just in time. Alice and Jasper were already sitting together, and I sat down, not bothering to see if Edward would sit with us. He would probably sit alone, if today was any indicator.

But to my surprise, he took a seat beside me, setting his head down on the table once again. This time, however, he hid his entire face. It wasn't long before I heard quiet gasps from him. Jasper seemed to know something was up because he kept stealing glances at Edward.

Finally, he stood up and put a hand on Edward's shoulder. He leaned down and whispered something to him. Edward hunched his shoulders further and shook his head. He sat up a little and ran his hands through his hair. I could see that his eyes were red, and there were streaks of wetness that ran down his face. I looked away, feeling too out of place.

Edward exhaled quietly, and to my shock, I felt his hand on my elbow. I glanced at him, shocked, but he wouldn't meet my gaze, his face slightly red.

"Edward?" I questioned softly.

His hand slid down to grasp my wrist. He inhaled deeply and moved his hand even lower, twining his fingers with mine. My hand was frozen, and I glanced at Jasper, confused.

Jasper was watching us, and he smiled when he saw our entwined hands. He leaned down in my ear, the one farthest away from Edward. "Let him have this," he whispered. "He needs to be comforted."

I nodded slowly, still unsure, and my hand gained some life again. I flexed my fingers slightly before relaxing into Edward's touch. I rubbed my thumb over his every so often, and he seemed to relax into my touch as well.

We were both quiet, simply holding hands while we worked. Edward read a book, and I worked on English homework. When the bell rang, Edward released my hand, packing his things up. He glanced up at me as I gathered my things together.

"Thank you," he said quietly. I nodded, smiling.

I didn't see Edward the rest of the day, and Alice appeared by my car at three o'clock. She was grinning widely. "Ready?"

I couldn't help smiling back at her. "Of course I am, Ali. Have you already said goodbye to Jasper, or will I be waiting for a few hours?"

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Yes, I've said goodbye to Jasper. Have you said goodbye to Edward?" she giggled as she got into my car.

I shot her a look. "I don't know what you're talking about, Alice."

"Don't think I didn't see you and Edward holding hands in study hall. There's obviously something going on between you two."

"There's nothing, Alice. He's been having a rough day. I was being a friend."

Alice gave me an unimpressed look. "Bella, please. Friends help each other by telling stalkers to go away. Friends lend each other some money to go buy concert tickets. But friends don't hold hands to make each other feel better."

"Alice, please. He doesn't feel that way about me. He doesn't like anyone, remember?"

But Alice wasn't buying it. She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Whatever you say, Bella. But I don't believe it."

"Can we change subjects? What about Rose and Emmett? Do you think it'll actually work?" I asked as I left the school, passing Edward and Emmett.

Alice shrugged. "If Rose gives him a chance. I think he really wants to date her. Not just a one-time thing, either. I think he really wants an exclusive relationship with her. She just needs to forget that he's a player."

"Should we really be setting her up with someone like him?" I mean, I didn't know Rosalie too well, but something told me that she wouldn't appreciate getting set up with a player.

"Edward and Jasper think it'll work, and so do I. Emmett just can't be an asshole otherwise Rosalie will never go near him. But if he shows her his sweet side, I'm positive that she'll fall for him." Alice smiled.

We were quiet the rest of the drive. When I pulled up to my house, Alice got out and made herself right at home like she always did.

"Bella, I love your house," she sighed, reclining on the couch and picking up the remote. "It's so homey."

"I bet yours is," I laughed, sitting down in Charlie's recliner.

She scoffed. "Nah, it's dirty most of the time, actually." She turned the TV on and began to flick through channels. "So what was it like?" she asked after a long minute.

"What was what like?"

Her eyes sparkled when she glanced at me. "Holding Edward's hand, silly. I bet his hands are cold. Are they?"

I shook my head. "No, they were actually really warm."

"Really?" Alice smiled. "Jazz's hands are usually cold. Edward has long fingers, though, doesn't he?"

"Mhm. I think he plays the piano. He's mentioned it a time or two when we talk."

"That's cool. Do you think he's good?"

I shrugged. "Probably. Edward's good at just about everything."

Alice laughed. "I bet there's something he's not good at. Jasper says that he's not good with people. He used to be, but not since six months ago."

I shrugged. "I don't know. He sounds like he used to be a jerk."

"He was." Alice gave me a sad smile. "Something's obviously gotten him spooked. Whatever it is can't be good, but I'm glad. It helped him for the better."

"Was Jasper always like he is?" I wondered. Had something happened to him to make him kind and quiet?

Alice grimaced a little. "He used to pick on me in middle school. But I mean, you know, Rosalie and I were best friends, and he was a boy. It was normal, I guess. Jasper's pretty much been the same ever since I can remember. He was never like Edward or Emmett."

"Well, I guess that's good."

She smiled, running her hands through her hair a few times. "Yeah. He's really sweet." She glanced down and grinned. "Speak of the devil." She answered her phone, her eyes sparkling. "Hey. Yeah, she's here." She put the phone on speaker. "All right, Jazz, we're both here. Is Edward with you?"

It was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, he's here. So what are we planning for Monday?"

"Hmmm. I think Emmett should just hang around us and say something about Edward acting weird. Edward, could you act, uh, really upset?" Alice asked. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, so say no if you don't want to."

There wasn't any sound for a long moment, but it sounded like they were arguing. "Edward can do that. And he says that he can get Emmett in on the plan as well."

"Great. Now we have to make sure that Rosalie doesn't decide to be super bitchy on Monday." Jasper snorted, and Alice smiled. "Jazz, can you make sure she's happy over the weekend?"

"Of course. It'll be hard, but I think I can manage." I heard the smile in his voice and grinned myself. Perhaps this would work.

"We're all going to need each other's numbers so we can call each other if we need to," Alice said slyly, winking at me. My face heated when I realized what she was up to. She was getting me Edward's number.

"Alice," I hissed. She laughed silently, holding up a finger.

"Ali, you can give Bella mine, and I'm sure you can give me Bella's. Edward doesn't have a phone anymore. He trashed his a few months ago."

Alice got this really heartbroken look on her face, and I sighed softly and squeezed her shoulder. "It's fine," I mouthed. "Really."

She nodded. "All right. I can do that. Anything else?"

"Nope, nothing on our side. Anything on yours?"

"Edward, why were you holding Bella's hand?" Alice asked before I could react.

"Alice," I hissed.

"Please, Ali, drop it," Jasper whispered.

"I want to know," she persisted. I glared at Alice, and she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Edward," I heard Jasper say quietly.

"Don't touch me!" Edward shouted. "Don't fucking touch me," he warned in a low voice.

"Edward, calm down," I said. "Please calm down."

It was quiet for a long time. I waited while Alice put her things in my room. She had dumped the bags near the front door, too excited about being at my house to do much else.

"I'm sorry," Edward finally whispered. "Sorry, Jasper. I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay," I heard Jasper reply. "I understand."

"So are we good now?" I asked, my voice filled with hope.

"Yeah, we're good. Is Alice away from the phone?" Jasper mumbled.

"Yes. She's putting her stuff in my room. Should I tell her to text you later?"

"That's fine. I guess I'll talk to you two later. Rose should be home soon. Bye, Bella."

"Bye, Jasper. Goodbye, Edward." I ended the call as Alice jumped down the stairs.

"Hey! Is Edward okay now?"

"Yeah, he's better. I don't know why you had to do that, Ali, but at least everything's okay."

"I just wanted to know why he was holding your hand! It seemed weird for him to hold your hand after he hasn't wanted to be near anyone in six months. Isn't that weird to you, Bella?" Alice questioned, arching an eyebrow. She sat down next to me.

"Yeah, I guess that's weird. Oh, and Jasper says to text him later." I laughed when Alice immediately picked up her phone.

"I doubt he meant within thirty seconds, Ali."

She scowled at me. "I was going to give you his number, but now I'm not so sure." She stuck her tongue out at me, and I laughed.

"Okay, okay, Alice. Could I have Jasper's phone number?"

"Of course you can." She recited it to me, then sighed. "It's a shame that Edward doesn't have a phone anymore."

I shrugged. "Oh well. It's not too bad. He probably got rid of it when he started acting weird."

"Probably," Alice agreed. "Now we have to get ready for Monday. Rosalie is going to fall for Emmett if it's the last thing I do."

-dramatic music- Bum bum bum... So that was the longest chapter on this story to date. Like it? Hate it? Either way, I'd love a review!

- J.C.