(A/N): A lot of you asked for more Edward so…..*drum rolllllllll*…Here he is!

Thanks to my awesome Beta RandomatGedz for fixing all of my messes :D

Enjoy!

Living Royal

Chapter Six

"Edward! Care to explain what the hell this is?" King Carlisle walked into his son's room. More like stormed in, actually.

"What is it now, dad?" Edward got up warily from his desk where he was attempting to study. He was thoroughly failing since every few moments his thoughts would travel to the delectable Bella Swan. It was insane how fast she had managed to capture his attention. It had never happened before.

He had dated before, a lot, but it was never like this.

One look into those deep brown eyes and he was done for. He just hoped she felt the same. He couldn't quite guess how she felt, sometimes she treated him like a friend she's known for quite sometime and other times she acted cold and aloof.

Not that he cared; he planed to pursue her anyway. He had to try, at the very least.

"You really don't know what you've done, do you?" Edward's father asked in a very authoritative voice, which made Edward think he must've really messed something up. He tried to figure out what it was that he did that could be so horrible, but nothing came to mind.

King Carlisle noticed his sons' confused look, "You really don't know? Well, then have a look at this."

Edward looked at the magazine his father was holding out to him.

Now he understood why his father was so mad.

But, it wasn't so bad, was it? It could be fixed.

Rosalie Hale: Future Queen, or Just a Fling?

Under the title was a photo of him and Rosalie the day he took her out to lunch in an effort to cheer her up after Emmett had gone back to his unit in Afghanistan. Rosalie was always worried sick whenever he left and since Emmett had made Edward promise to take care of her, he tried to do the best he could.

If Edward knew Rosalie well, and he did, she must be pretty pissed by now. And Emmett even more so.

Rosalie and Emmett have been dating in secret for quite some time now. Emmett, being Edward's younger brother and not the immediate heir to the throne wasn't exactly the focus of the tabloids and the press, but he was still expected to keep up the pretense. He couldn't date just anyone. There was a certain criteria he had to keep up with.

That thought depressed Edward.

If Emmett couldn't date rich, beautiful and charismatic Rosalie, just because her parents weren't seen as fit for royalty, then what were the chances for Edward and Bella?

"What of it, father? You know how the press exaggerates everything. Rosalie's just a friend."

"Edward, we've already talked to your brother about this before, we don't want to have to get into this with you too."

Edward rolled his eyes. He remembered now why he thought that spending his weekends with his parents would be a bad idea. Something like this always came up and it never ended well.

"I still don't understand why Emmett and Rosalie are not allowed to date, by the way. He's a grown up for heaven's sake and so is she. They should be allowed to make their own decisions, don't you think?"

"Edward, we've been through this before. We're the royal family, we must maintain appearances. Royalty only marry royalty, or at least someone of royal lineage. It's the way it's always been done, son. I did it and so must you and your brother. You know I was in love with someone else before I married your mother."

"Yes, I remember quite well your tragic story, so does mother, I might add. Since you never let us forget it." Edward spat. He hated how his father continued to remind everyone that he and his mother were forced to get married, as though he had to step up to continue the family legacy or whatever.

King Carlisle sighed, "You know I love your mother now, Edward."

"Yeah, and I'm sure she's very thankful for that," Edward bit off, sarcastically.

"This is not the time for this discussion, Edward."

It never was.

Just make sure that this never happens again." King Carlisle went on, before he stormed out of his son's room.

Edward walked to his window and glanced outside. The weather was perfect, for London that is. The sun made one of its rare appearances. Usually, weather like that would make him feel good, hopeful even, but not today.

Today, all he could think about was that, with a few words, his father had dashed all hope for him and Bella ever being together.

He slept fitfully that night. He woke up every hour or two after having the same nightmare he'd been having for the past few days. In the nightmare he saw Bella and she was just within reach but whenever he tried to reach out to her, she stepped away, and then she became hazy, like an apparition. Edward became frantic that she would disappear and he tried harder to get a hold of her, but in vain.

The moment she disappeared was the moment Edward always woke up. Today was no different.

A week later, Edward was still suffering and he honestly did not know what to do about it. He was not simply suffering from the nightmares; no it was more than that. He had made a decision to stay away from Bella and he was already regretting it. How could he stay away from her when every time he caught a glimpse of her across the classroom he felt his heart stop, and then suddenly start beating a million miles a second.

Every move she made, no matter how simple like flicking her hair behind her shoulder, made him groan inwardly. She was just too beautiful for her own good.

He couldn't take it any longer.

So what if he pissed off his father?

He'd done it before and lived to tell that tale. It couldn't hurt, right?

Edward decided to turn his brain off, as he was walking to his next class. He'd had enough. He came to a stop when he rounded a corner and saw Bella standing to the side with Jasper and, who he assumed was Jasper's girlfriend, Alice.

He'd met Jasper when he first came to the university as he lived a few doors down from him. He was a pretty decent guy; he was actually the only guy who treated him as a normal human being and not a 'Royal Prince'. Something that Edward liked very much. He also seemed to be very much in love with his girlfriend since he talked about her non stop and…

Edward's thoughts trailed off at that moment and he could do nothing but stare.

Bella had thrown her head back and started laughing at something her friend, Alice, said. He laugh was so beautiful. Also, the sun rays hit her hair at that moment and Edward realized that her brown hair had reddish streaks in it.

God, have mercy.

He couldn't take this anymore.

He didn't have to.

Edward started walking towards the little group before he knew what he was doing.

"Hey guys. Bella, can I talk to you for a minute?" He said quickly before Jasper or Alice could respond.

Relax, you idiot! You're going to make a mess of things and then she'll refuse to speak to you ever again.

"Um, yeah? Sure." She mumbled.

She didn't sound so sure.

They walked a few steps away then stopped to face each other.

Edward opened his mouth to speak but Bella cut him off.

"Before you say anything, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did with Jacob. I didn't get a chance to thank you, before. Well, actually I did, I just didn't know what to say and-" Bella was rambling and thankfully Edward interrupted before she made an ass of herself in front of him.

"It's okay; really, you don't have to thank me. Anyone in my place would've done the same." He shrugged.

"No, actually, not everyone would've done the same. That's what makes you so special, Edward." She smiled up at him and Edward felt his heart melt.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" She asked when Edward didn't respond.

Edward took a long breath. Here goes nothing. "I was wondering if you're free tomorrow night?"

Bella looked confused; did she really not realize where he was going with this?

"Yeah, I was just planning to hang around my room, watch a movie or something, why?"

"A friend of mine owns a bar not far from here. I was planning on going tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

He'd never been so hesitant about asking a girl out before. Then again, he'd never met anyone quite like Bella Swan before.

Bella stared at him in shock. And she went on staring.

This was not good.

"Alice and Jasper are welcome to come too, of course." He added, hoping to salvage the situation as much as he could.

If she wasn't up for a date, yet, he would settle for a double date.

It was fast becoming obvious to Edward that he would settle for anything when it came to Bella.

"Uh, sure, I'd love to come. I'd have to ask Alice and Jasper, though, but I think they would like to come too." She finally answered.

Edward let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Thank God.

They exchanged cell phone numbers. Edward felt so good about that, like he finally had something that connected him to her, no matter how simple that thing was.

He smiled widely, "Great, then I guess I'll see you then."

Bella nodded shyly. She was so damn adorable that Edward couldn't resist leaning down and pecking her cheek.

God, her skin was so soft.

Before he let out an involuntary groan; Edward turned around and walked away quickly.

Bella was in a daze.

Did that just happen? Did Prince Edward actually ask her out on a date?

She didn't know, she was able to answer him, since the moment he asked she had totally lost all ability to think, let alone speak.

I slowly walked back to where Jasper and Alice stood waiting for me.

"So? What did he say? Come on, tell me!" Alice was jumping up and down. I swear that girl needed a huge dose of Ritalin.

"I will tell you, if you give me a chance to speak."

Alice stood still and closed her mouth, immediately, causing Jasper to grin.

"I wish she listens to me when I say that." Jasper chuckled. Alice sent him a death glare. Then she looked at Bella imploringly.

"Oka, okay, so it seems that we're going on a double date with Prince Edward." Bella couldn't help but grin.

Alice squealed so loud that Bella and Jasper had to cover their ears in an effort to protect their poor abused ear-drums.

"Jeez, Alice, that was a record, even for you." Bella said when Alice was done.

"I'm so excited! You're going on a date with Prince Edward! Oh my God, why aren't you jumping around?"

"Because you're jumping enough for the both of us, and it's not just me that's going on a date with him, it's all of us."

"So? Then it's a double date, which still means that you're going out with him."

A smile broke out on Bella's face, "Yeah, I guess I am."

Then she started jumping around along with Alice.

What? Could you blame her?

Jasper rolled his eyes, affectionately, "Girls."

The rest of the day was spent discussing clothes and make-up and poor Jasper had to excuse himself before he lost his 'last shred of masculinity', as he put it.

Bella went to bed late that night. She tossed and turned, worried about the date, wondering how she was supposed to act around him or what she was supposed to say.

A thought suddenly hit her.

How could she have forgotten about this?

Rosalie Hale.

And now she was back to being pissed. At herself more than at Edward, but pissed nonetheless.

Bella got up from her bed and started pacing back and forth. Now what? Should she call him and cancel? She couldn't go out with him, now, could she? Not if he has a girlfriend.

Bella's phone rang and she jumped to answer it quickly before it woke Alice up.

"Hello?" She answered as quietly as possible.

"Uh, Bella? Sorry, did I call at a bad time? I know it's late."

It was Edward. Her heartbeat sped up, automatically, like every time she heard his voice.

Focus, Bella. You're angry remember?

Honestly, she had a hard time remembering who she was at that point.

"Bella, are you still there?"

Guess she'd been quiet for a while.

"Oh, yeah. I'm here. I'm just trying to be quiet because Alice is asleep."

"Yeah, sorry I'm calling so late. I just…I wanted to hear your voice before I went to sleep."

Aww, how was she supposed to be angry after that?

"Um, that's good."

What the hell? Abort! Abort, now! You sound like an idiot!

"Bella, Is everything okay? You don't sound so good. Did something happen today? Is it Jacob?" He sounded so worried that Bella softened for a second.

"No, no, nothing happened, exactly. I just remembered something that I wanted to ask you about." Yup, she dove right in. No reason to hesitate now.

"Sure, go ahead."

"I need to know something first, is tomorrow an official date? Or is it just a group of friends hanging out? Because if it's the latter then I have no right to ask you what I want to ask." She explained.

"You can ask me anything you want, Bella, no matter what. And as for tomorrow, I was hoping it would be an official date, the only reason I asked you to bring Alice and Jasper was because I felt that you were uncomfortable with the whole thing, so I thought, maybe we could ease into it. We could hang out first and then the next time, hopefully, it'll be just us?"

"Yeah, I'd like that…Wait, I mean it all depends on what I'm about to ask."

"Go ahead, Bella, you're making me nervous." He chuckled lightly.

"Please, be honest. Are you dating Rosalie Hale?"

"What? Where did you hear that? Those damn tabloids!'' He muttered the last bit, probably thinking she couldn't hear but she did.

He didn't answer the question.

She told him just that.

"No, Bella. I'm not, nor have I ever dated Rosalie Hale, trust me." He said it with such conviction that she couldn't help but believe him.

"But, Alice saw you guys together more than once." She pushed on, wanting an explanation.

"Rosalie and I are good friends, that's all. There's a reason why we're seen together so often, but it's not that we're dating, believe me. I'll explain everything to you tomorrow, I promise, okay?"

"Alright," She could wait.

"I should let you go to sleep now; I've kept you up too much. Goodnight, beautiful." He whispered.

"Night," She whispered back.

After they hung up, Bella laid back in bed wondering what Edward would say the next day. She hoped he had a good explanation for all this because she really, really liked him. In fact, Bella believed she was well on her way to falling for him.

God help her, she was.

(A/N): So? Excited? Next chapter is definitely the date, and we get to see Bella's reaction to Edward's "explanation". Do you think she'll buy it or will she remain skeptical?

Oh, those royals and their melodramas ;)

I loved how you guys reacted to Jacob getting the boot :D I guess we have a lot of Jake haters over here :D

Thanks soooooo much for all of your reviews, I've read each and every one of them! You guys rock!

I wrote a longer chapter this time especially for you, my awesome reviewers :)

So, See you next time! :)

xoxo