A/N: Ok, so I'm terribly sorry for abandoning this story for as long as I did. But, in the past two days I have had a major urge to write and have written the next 2 chapters (mostly… just a little left) so, please forgive me and read and review! This is kind of a filler chapter to get to the next one where the plot and action really get going! Read, review and enjoy!

Ch 6. Combustion

Being with Edward wasn't like being with normal people. I think he had a bizarre way to control time. The hours I spent with him sped by much too fast, like sand slipping through cupped hands. While time in classes without him crawled by at a pace that made a sloth look like an Olympic sprinter. It wasn't fair to be sure, but was it truly fair that this beautiful man was attracted to me? Not in the slightest. So Id take what I could get.

I attended all of my classes faithfully for the first week, though I had been tempted to ditch every time and go to class with Edward instead. Fate had us in all separate classes, but really what classes would a Pre-Med and an English major have in common? But when we weren't in class we spent nearly all of our time together. We ate nearly every meal together, made trips to the library to research together and even ventured off campus together a few times. The first week of my new college life was insane. It was too good to be real. It was a dream come true… except for the Hemmingway. That was the only downside to my new way of life; classes.

Friday afternoon as I came out of my Mythology class I saw Edward leaning against a tree waiting for me, as had become customary. It was a typical Seattle day. The sky was clouded over with grey rain puffs and the air held the promise of rain soon to come. When I had moved to the Olympic peninsula from Phoenix in high school I had detested the rain, but I found comfort in it now. I walked over to him and smiled shyly as he brushed back a stray bit of unruly brown hair and kissed my forehead.

"Why are you so smiley this afternoon, Bella?" he asked as we began our walk to the cafeteria.

"Because, its Friday. We made it through our first week of classes!" I exclaimed.

"We did," Edward replied, smiling as widely as I was. "We have to celebrate!" He stopped walking and pulled me in closer to him, slowly and as his green eyes pierced through me with their beauty, I felt as if I might combust. Could you explode from happiness? Could you burst from desire? I felt as if I might. He leaned in closer, even more slowly, mere inches from my face. I closed my eyes…

And that's when I heard her.

"Is that anyway to behave in public Edward? Really…" I turned and faced Alice with what I hoped was a very perturbed expression on my face. She looked back at me with a triumphant smirk.

"I seem to remember you and Jasper doing a lot worse in public, Alice." Edward recalled eying Alice with disbelief.

She tried to give him an innocent face, but failed. I laughed as I watched the two of them, despite my anger. You just couldn't find siblings any funnier than these, except perhaps my Emmett.

"So, what brings you to the our neck of the woods Alice?" I asked.

"Well…" she began, "everyone is getting together at The IceBox tonight and the upperclassmen are extending the invitation to the newbie's!" The IceBox was a local hangout for upper classmen, famous for local amazing music and alcohol. It wasn't a place I would usually hang out at, but I new Emmett was probably there most weekends with Rose.

"How, may I ask, are two nineteen-year-olds going to get in to The IceBox?" Edward asked, voicing the question I had been turning over in my head.

"Emmett knows the manager. So, are you guys in or what?" She asked, though it was clear not going was not an option.

Edward looked to me, waiting for some sort of cue. I nodded my head.

"Great!" Alice practically yelled. "We're meeting at Jasper's at nine Edward. I'm going to make sure Bella gets dressed properly. Bella you are to be back at our room without him by seven, ok?"

"What!?" Had Alice lost her mind? There was no way I was not going to spend the rest of the day with Edward.

"No if's and's or but's Bella. If she's not back at our room by seven Edward Ill hold you personally responsible." And with that she departed shouting "see you at seven" over her shoulder.

Unable to move yet, I stood planted to my spot.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Edward asked as he took my hand in his and led me to the cafe.

"I'm going to kill your sister," I grumbled as he chuckled.

"Don't sweat it, Bella, she means well."

"Easy for you to say!" He was getting off easy; Alice wouldn't make him sit in the bathroom as she applied an endless supply of makeup and hairspray. "She wont spend two and a half hours dressing you up like a Bella Barbie doll."

He laughed harder. "No, you're right. Ill just spend my time missing you."

We walked into the cafeteria hand in hand and got in line. I was used to the looks by now. They were easy to read. Mostly the 'pretty' people gave them as if to say 'is he really with her?' They didn't shock or trouble anymore. Edward's beauty even took me by surprise. It wasn't really fair. We would meet for coffee early in the morning and he would look like a model while I sat there with my hair resembling a haystack and my eyes half shut from lack of sleep.

I watched as Edward looked around the dining hall for somewhere to sit before heading in the direction off by one of the large windows that looked off into a wooded area. I sat down at a small square table as Edward went off to get food.

It was close to six thirty by the time that we finished eating and talking. Even though we had spent so much time together in the last week we never ran out of things to talk about. He told me about classes and books he'd read and I regaled him with old stories of Emmett and I growing up. The last ten minutes or so we sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. Edward broke the silence at six forty five.

"I know you don't want to go, but Alice will have my head if you're not back by seven," he said with a heavy sigh. He didn't want me to go any more than I did.

"Do I have to?" I asked as I stood up and pulled my bag over my shoulder.

"I think so," he replied as he stood with me and walked toward the doors of the dining hall and out onto the lawn that lead to the dorms. "But trust me when I say, this hurts me more than it hurts you."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," I replied skeptically as we approached my dorm building.

"Do I need to escort you up to the door to make sure you don't make a run for it?" Edward asked.

"I think I may run for it," I playfully informed him. I just didn't want him to leave yet, and this was one way to get more time with him.

"Well then, lets get you upstairs." He took my waist in his hands, hoisted me over is shoulder and into the building.

"Edward!"

"You said you'd make a run for it," he replied as he placed me on my feet inside the elevator. I met his eyes and suddenly all my playful aggravation vanished. What had I been mad about? I couldn't remember. The elevator doors opened and we walked hand in hand down the hall, stopping in front of my door. I glanced at my watch. Seven o'clock on the nose. "So, Ill see you at exactly nine, right?"

"Ill been counting down the minutes," he replied as his hand came to my face to brush my cheek. I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes. I didn't want to say goodbye. Then I felt Edward's soft lips gently pressing on my own. I replied to his touch with an eagerness that was silly, and then his lips were gone all to quickly as he walked out the back to the elevator.

I was watching him walk away when I heard the door next to me open.

"About time. Get inside! We only have two hours!" Alice demanded. Only two hours? This was going to be ridiculous. Ridiculous and long. I glanced around the room and saw a dark blue satin-y looking halter dress that looked to be cut just above the knee.

"Is that mine?" I asked, pointing to the dress.

"You betcha!" Alice's face broke out into a wide grin as she shook her head. "Go shower! Ill finish getting dressed while you get washed up."

When I came out of the shower wrapped in my bathrobe a half hour later, even I was taken back. Alice looked… hott. There were no other words for it. Her short black hair was flipped into spiked ends as was usual, but her jeans and blouses were long gone. She stood before me in an ultra-short strapless black cotton dress and black gladiator sandals. She smiled at me, stretched her arms out in front of her and said "lets get to work" and dragged me back into the bathroom.

An hour and a half later I looked in the mirror. Dressed, with my hair and make-up finished, I hardly recognized myself. I was pretty, in a quiet way. The blue made my pale skin look radiant instead of its usual tones of flat and pasty. My hair was pulled back from my face with a hair band and fell in loose curls on my back. I actually felt pretty.

"Bella… you look beautiful." Alice squealed into my ear. "Grab your coat! Its nine fifteen! We have to get going!"

"Nine Fifteen!" What!? "We were supposed to be there at nine!" I practically yelled at her.

"Bella, I told Edward nine because Emmett wanted to talk to him and I thought it would be funny." She confessed. She looked amused rather than guilty, which is the emotion I thought would have been more appropriate. I fixed a look on her that I hoped brought the phrase 'if looks could kill to mind' and moved quickly for the door.

When I parked my truck near Emmett and Jaspers shared apartment, I was worried. What had Emmett done now? Was Edward going to hate me? How was I going to fix this? I knocked loudly on the door as Alice whispered something that sounded like 'chill Bella' under her breath. I ignored her for the moment. Though I wasn't honestly mad at anyone other than Emmett, she was still an accomplice.

Jasper opened the door. "Hey Bella," he greeted me nonchalantly and ushered me in.

When I walked in the room, I wasn't sure what to think. I saw Jasper by the door and Rose standing in the kitchen, with Edward sitting across from Emmett in the living room. I practically ran to Edward, only pausing to smack Emmett upside the head. We had only been apart a few hours, but I had missed him terribly. Just seeing him again made my heart feel more whole, like a piece had been missing in his absence. I watched his eyes widen as he took in my appearance. I must have looked better than I thought. He was looking at me in a way that made my knees weak and my heart melt like warm butter. But I couldn't get distracted… I had business to attend to.

"I can't believe you!" I shouted at my oaf of a brother as I refocused my attention. Honestly, I finally got a guy to like me and Emmett had to go a ruin everything. Perhaps he had been the reason I never had a boyfriend in high school?

"I'm just protecting my baby sister!" he defended.

"Don't worry Bella," Edward interceded. "I did something similar when Jasper started dating Alice. It's a brothers duty." And then he looked down to me with the most heart warming crooked smile. He was wearing a black collared shirt that was rolled up to his elbows and black pants. The color made his tussled bronze hair stand out beautifully.

"I'm still mad at you, Emmett." I told him over my shoulder. I had turned my attention back to Edward. "I missed you." I whispered softly into his ear.

He smiled at me warmly before leaning down and giving me a chaste kiss.

"Well, lets get going before I barf." I heard Emmett as he moved for the door. This was going to be a night to remember.

A/N: Already written (mostly) is the night at The IceBox! Here is where the real fun begins! Once I get…. Three reviews Ill post the next chapter. Three! That's all I'm asking for! Tell me what you think!