Check it, check it! Almost 4,000 words! Jesus Christ Monkey Balls! Biggest chapter ever! Keep a look out for all the Twilight references in this chapter. I loved writing them, working them in somehow. To the reviewer who was asking if Edward took his shirt off because it was wet or because he's sexy. The answer? Both, baby. Both. *drools over Edward* LOL. Anywho *folds away poster and places under bed* Um, anyway, thanks for reviews once again. Please, tell me what you think of this chapter.
Heat. I had grown used to the constant chill in Forks.
But, right now, all I could feel was heat, warmth...deliciousness. I was underneath all my blankets, but it felt like I had a radiator hidden somewhere between the sheets.
My arm was wrapped around something...someone! It took me a moment to remember the happenings of last night, a soaking wet Edward climbing through my window to confess his love to me. You know, same old. He had also spent the night. It wasn't like that, though.
Edward knew that, and I also knew that he would never push me. Last night was pure comfort and need. I didn't want him to leave, he felt even less inclined to do so. In a hastily made decision, I told him he didn't have to go. So, he didn't. He kicked off his shoes—and his shirt!—then climbed into bed.
He smelled the way he always did—like Edward. It was an intoxicating aroma, better than any cologne. His arm held me tight against him, my head resting on his bare chest. I could scream. Which was what I was about to do when Charlie knocked on my door. My eyes flew open. "Bells?" he called.
Edward tensed, his arm tightened reflexively then disappeared. I made a snap decision—better not to let Edward be seen in my bed, especially when the owner of the house has a revolver. So, I pushed him, and he rolled off the bed, making a thud on the floor next to the bed, on the opposite side.
To mask this as my own clumsiness, I pushed myself out of bed, tangling my legs up in blankets and kneeling on the floor. "Uh," Charlie opened the door warily. "Did you fall out of bed, hon?" he asked, trying to keep his smile a look of concern. I nodded. "Yeah," I croaked. Charlie frowned, taking in my form.
"I didn't want to wake you last night, you seemed so exhausted. I guess you didn't get a shower." He commented. I grimaced, thanks Dad. "It's my day off, so we'll be out on the boat." My eyebrows rose. Out on the boat? He hadn't been out since Billy died. This caught me by surprise. I had expected he would spend his day off like every other day off he had—at home, with the T.V. "You're...going fishing?" I inquired cautiously. He nodded. "It's pretty early, I just wanted to let you know before you went to school."
I nodded. "Sure," Then I realised something. "Wait, hang on, Dad." He paused before closing the door. "You said, 'We'll be out on the boat.' Who are you going with? Harry?" I would have thought Harry was too ill to go out. Maybe he had gotten better? He had been weak for weeks after his heart scare. I
felt a strong pang of sympathy for the Clearwaters. Charlie shook his head, frowning at me like the answer was obvious. "No, actually. Jacob's coming with me," My heart sank, and for a brief second I thought I could hear Edward growl.
"He's taking a few days off school. Needs some R and R. You know," He sighed.
"Poor kid. How do you get on without your old man. And Jake's such a good guy, too." I grimaced, fighting the urge to puke at the mention of his name. I could feel the tremors already starting in my body. "Whatever happened to you guys, Bells? You used to be the best of friends. And all of a sudden, poof! It's almost as if you flicked a switch from love to hate." I gave Charlie and eye roll—very nonchalant. I let out a shaky breath and answered in a small voice.
"Things change, Dad." I shrugged. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.
"Well, he said he's been wanting to meet up with you." I froze, icy splinters of fear lodging themselves in my stomach. "Oh," was all I managed to say. "Well, have fun at school, honey. I'll see you later, bring back some fish for dinner." He added through the closed door. I managed to back up till my knees hit the edge of the bed. I sat down, breathing rapidly.
Edward materialised in front of me. I could see the menacing look of rage plain in his features. He sat down beside me, and pulled me onto his lap. He brushed the hair from my face and kissed my forehead. "He won't stop," I whispered. I could feel Edward's arms tighten around me before he whispered back threateningly,
"I'll make him."
***
Thanks to Charlie's unexpected wake-up call, I was wide awake and could drive Edward home so he could get his books and change clothes.
However, the mood wasn't the same as it was when I opened my eyes. The mention of his name had put my nerves on edge. I was jumpy and agitated all morning. I threw Edward's shirt to him, grabbing my bathroom bag and some fresh clothes. I was feeling incredibly self-conscious, I was anxious to get clean and brush my teeth.
I blushed the entire time Edward put his shirt back on. He smiled crookedly at my bashfulness. After my small episode after Charlie left, he was in an entirely different mood too. But he was trying to let it go—for me. I had a quick shower, brushed my teeth and hair meticulously and dragged Edward downstairs for some breakfast before I took him home.
He stopped in the middle of the kitchen, assessing his surroundings. My kitchen seemed like such a dump in comparison to what he was used to—hell the whole house was a piece of crap, in comparison. But instead of smirking, he smiled fondly. I had no idea why, but I just shook it off, if he wanted to tell me he was free to. I turned to the fridge, hunting up some milk for cereal. "Hey, let me do that." He said, pushing me gently out of the way. I blushed.
"It's okay, you don't have to..." I trailed off; he shook his head and grinned.
I sighed and sat down at the table, waiting to see how he would find food here. He scanned through the cupboard and found what he was looking for—Lucky Charms. I smiled as he handed me a bowl. I poured some for myself and handed him the box.
He leaned over the circular table and planted a kiss on my lips. I giggled against his skin. He sat down then and dug in to his cereal. I followed suit, shovelling down the marshmallow pieces until the bowl was empty.
I stood up, grabbed my jacket and backpack and keys.
Edward was right behind me, following me out the door. It felt so casual, so normal, like we did this every morning. I wanted to giggle and jump up and down. But I knew that because of my enormous good luck last night, there was bound to be a hideous turn in events sooner or later.
Things wouldn't stay the same for long. I would have another obstacle, but this time, I had Edward to leap over it with. That thought had me fleeting. I made it to Edward's house with twenty minutes to spare until school started. I pushed Edward out the door, he grinned back at me and dashed into the house. He appeared five minutes later, fresh clothes, looking as godly as ever. We rode in silence to school. It was comfortable, easy. We shared an apprehensive look as I turned the ignition off.
I took a deep breath and Edward grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze before he opened his door. I couldn't move. What would people think? Then I mentally slapped myself for being so obtuse. What did it matter what people thought? It didn't. I told myself that as my door opened by itself.
Though, I remembered one small detail. There would be hell to pay when Alice found out. He took my hand and pulled me out of the cab, while I was lost in my abstraction. Alice had been begging me for an explanation to my moods, and I had told her I wasn't ready to tell.
What would she think when she saw me with Edward? I was such a crappy friend. I sighed, my thoughts landing back on earth, back to reality, back to Edward. We were standing in front of my truck, facing the rest of the school. I could feel the weight of their stares on us, like ray guns, sizzling against my skin. It was incredibly uncomfortable. One foot in front of the other, thats all it would take. I glanced up at Edward, an apologetic look on his face.
"Just pretend...that you're in..." he trailed off, considering. Then he smiled.
"Phoenix. Pretend you're in Phoenix. Forget them." I grinned and nodded, finding it easier to ignore the people staring at us, speaking in hushed whispers as we stepped past them and into the hallways. A small memory from yesterday popped in my head suddenly.
It occurred to me that Edward's car was no longer in the lot, vandalised and mutilated.
"What happened to your car?" I inquired, staring up at Edward. He sighed and stopped suddenly, we were at his locker.
"I told Carlisle this morning. He was fine about it, of course," Edward rolled his eyes and shook his head, disbelieving.
"And he must have gotten it towed before we got here. He has connections, and he works quick." He chuckled at that last part. "His girlfriend, Esme's, brother works for the local auto service. He probably rang him." He shrugged.
"I'm sorry, again. You're poor car," I murmured, shaking my head forlornly.
"It was a great car." I added. He grimaced. "It was." We both sighed then chuckled at each other.
***
I had been safe through all four morning periods. Edward reassured me in third when we had English. I seriously couldn't remember what I had been worried about.
My anxiety was stupid. There was no reason for me to feel so...nervous. Now that I thought about it, I wanted to be seen with Edward. I wanted everyone to know that he was mine and that I was his, and then, after that, they could get back to their hopeless mundane lives.
This was so simple. But then again, I had foreseen another obstacle. An obstacle in the form of Mike Newton. An apple, big and red—lethal when thrown hard enough—flew toward us with frightening accuracy.
It was meant to be for Edward, I guessed, seeing the apple on Mike's tray before hand, yet it was coming straight for my face. I gasped, cringing. Edward's hand flew out, snatching the apple out of the air before it pummelled a fresh purple bruise on my eye.
Praise, Edward, the dear. I smiled mercifully up at him. His hand lowered, setting the apple on the table with a gentle thud. "Edward," I warned, he was scanning the lunch room. I saw his eyes tighten when he found the culprit. "Edward, don't." I said, more sternly. He turned to look at me, frustrated.
Once his eyes met mine, they softened. He sighed and closed his eyes, forgetting Mike...for the moment at least.
We sat there for the rest of lunch, listening to Edward's IPod. When the tune of a familiar classic sounded in my ear, my eyes widened in surprise.
"Claire De Lune?" I squeaked. His eyebrows shot up. "You like Claire De Lune?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah. Debussy, it's one of my favourites." He smiled crookedly. I laughed. "Huh," I said, feeling all warm inside. Nobody I knew had even heard of Claire De Lune, much less love her music. I smiled fleetingly, leaning on his side as the rest of the song flowed out in a soft melody. I noticed Edward's fingers strumming against the table like he was playing the piano. It looked as if he knew what he was doing too.
I would ask him about that later. The bell rang and I suppressed a groan. Edward took my hand, helping me up from my seat, even though it was unnecessary. But after I thought about it, I was a klutz, wasn't I? I took it as an advantage now, extra reasons why he had to touch me, hold my hand.
I smiled and handed him back his IPod that I had commandeered.
"I must admit, you have good taste." I nodded approvingly. He grinned and bent down to kiss me lightly on the lips.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small dark figure prance towards us. I suppressed another groan. "I'll see you in art, okay?" I told Edward. He nodded and took off through the glass doors, leaving me to face the wrath that is Alice Brandon. I sighed as she finally came to a halt, nose to nose with me. "Care to explain?" she ordered, her voice sharp. It was difficult to imagine any harm this girl could inflict, but she was frightening.
"You know what you saw." I shrugged, trying to keep my tone as casual as possible. She glared, her mouth popping open, she shifted her stance, placing her hands on her hips. "Bella," she began sternly. "Where have you been?" she asked, her tone of voice changing abruptly to hurt. "What do you mean? I've been here," I motioned all around me, indicating school. Where else? "I know that," she muttered, exasperated.
She leaned closer, I could smell her floral perfume.
"I mean, where have you been? You're here, but your mind is elsewhere. You've hardly even spoken to me." She said, her voice cracking. I crumbled.
"Damnit, Alice. I'm so sorry." I apologised. She shook her head, a tear forming in her eye. "You didn't even tell me you had a boyfriend, and that it was Edward Cullen!" she hissed. "We're supposed to be best friends, okay? You have to tell me these things!" she scolded, hopping to my side to wrap her tiny arm around my waist. She rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Alice. Okay? I truly am. I'll answer anything you want to know."
I granted her as much liberty as I could manage.
She backed away from me, her face bright and excited. "Come on, walk and talk." I ordered.
She flitted along by my side. "So...?" she started. I began, sighing in resignation, there was no reigning Alice in, especially when she wanted something. "Yes, I have a boyfriend. Yes, he is Edward Cullen." Alice made a squeaking noise. I looked over at her, she had her hand over her mouth.
"Oh my god, Bella! I'm so happy for you!" she pranced around the halls until we made it to my locker. The halls were practically empty, no doubt I would get a detention for being late. Alice didn't care, she clapped her hands in excitement. "How long has this been going on?" I shrugged. "It's only really just started." I murmured, pulling my calculus book out.
"Vague answers are not getting you off the hook." she warned. I rolled my eyes. "Now, what's he like? Can me and Jasper sit with you guys?"
I grimaced. "Um, I don't know. I guess." I said, in answer to her lunch date suggestion.
"And he's really great." I grinned to myself. "He's just..." I trailed off, sighing. I noticed I sounded like a love-sick teen that kissed posters of movie stars, but I didn't care. I had the real life version. Alice cleared her throat then, just as we approached my class room.
"So, are you ready yet?" she asked softly, meeting my eyes with a worried gaze. My eyes dropped to the floor. I hated being this way. Alice deserved to know the truth about me. And, I'm sure, that like Edward, she would still think of me the same way, still love me.
But I couldn't bring myself to say the words, not here, not when I felt so vulnerable. I bit my lip.
"After school, Alice." I said. "Come over to my house," I took a deep, cleansing breath. "And, I will tell you." She nodded, smiling warmly.
She skipped to me then and gave me a light peck on the cheek, like an enchanted little pixie.
I shook my head as I entered my Math torture group session—in other words, Calculus. I sat down in my normal seat in Art, Edward sat next to me. I noticed that his painting had drastically altered, the week before last, it was sort of taking shape into an abstract face, then one day, he decided to change it. Splashing wild colours over the top. I would have objected had it been my place to do so. But I let him do what he wanted, it was his work, not mine.
I continued with my own painting and we silently waited out the hour till school ended. "Oh," I huffed.
"I have a detention for being late to Calculus," stupid teachers. "Are you going to wait for me at the truck?" He nodded, smiling crookedly.
"Don't take too long." He called over his shoulder. I smiled to myself, blushing, then trudged off to purgatory. I slumped down in an empty desk at the front of the room, retrieving my notebook and started doodling on it. The teacher didn't look up once. I drew pictures of eyes...green ones.
I almost punched myself for even considering writing Edward's name. That would look incredibly embarrassing, not to mention, stalker-ish. The teacher finally let me go, telling me that he expected more of me, and not to let it happen again. I muttered out a faint goodbye and left the room.
I flew around the corners to my locker, anxious to be at Edward's side once more. I opened the doors, searching around the empty parking lot. Well, it wasn't entirely empty, there were two cars still there. My truck...and MIKE'S CAR! "Crap!" I hissed, sprinting down the grassy hill toward the cars. I couldn't see Edward.
I stopped just as I reached the stairs leading down, when I heard a scuffle. "Oh, fuck," I ran toward it, using my hearing to guide me. I still couldn't see them.
"Stop it!" I shouted once I found them. Edward had Mike pinned up against the wall of the cafeteria. "Both of you, get a fucking grip!" I hissed.
Edward loosened his grip on Mike's collar, now blood spattered.
His nose was bleeding. Edward had a small pink mark on his right cheek bone.
My mouth hung open. He stared at me, his eyes ashamed, but still holding a fire of fury at Mike. He must have seen this distraction as his chance. Mike sprung, launching himself at Edward. His fist flew to his face, missing. I stepped forward frantically and got a bone-crushing elbow to the stomach.
I fell back. I heard a growl, then stood up, holding my side.
Edward was now standing over me protectively. Mike spat blood out of his mouth then muttered, "You fuck."
I shook my head. He wiped at his face with his sleeve then turned to leave.
I ran forward then, kicking him between the legs while his back was turned. A high pitched squeal escaped his lips, he dropped to his knees.
I was never a violent person. But this—this felt awesome.
I turned on my heel and darted back to Edward, not looking into his face, grabbing my discarded book bag, grabbing his hand and towing him to my truck. The ride was silent, I drove him to his house, stopping at his front door almost. I finally turned to him, taking a deep breath and letting myself examine his face.
I bit my lip and frowned. Mike got the worst of it, definitely. Edward merely had that small pink bruise and a bit of a cut on his lip. It made me feel sick to know that it was kind of hot. I trumped those disturbing thoughts and went back to sympathy. This emotion was normal. I reached my hand to his face, turning his chin to see his cheek better.
I shook my head. "How the hell did it all start?" I demanded. Edward's eyes were darker today. A darker jade green.
"It doesn't matter," he said, avoiding my eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Just tell me, Edward. Or I could go talk to Mike." I said, he glared at the dash then sighed. "He said you were his," I snorted, thinking that was it, but it wasn't. "He said he slept with you." I gulped, my eyes growing wide. My stomach churned. Edward sighed, closing his eyes before saying the last part.
"All the time. That you begged for it...that..you liked...it rough," his voice was hard, his eyes glaring, his hands were clenched, his jaw tight. He had trouble finishing that sentence. "And I...lost it." He admitted, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. He looked into my eyes then, they were blurry with tears.
I sniffed, my hand shaking. I shook my head feircly. "Liar!" I hissed at the steering wheel. Edward leaned closer to me then, lifting my chin up with his fingers. He wiped the tears away with his finger tips. I stared at him. "I'll look after you." He promised, leaning forward closer to kiss me. I kissed him back.
On cue, my pulse sped up, as did my breathing when Edward was in such close proximity. I wrapped my arms around his neck, our lips parted, his breath flowed into my mouth. I was going insane. Our relationship was in it's early stages, yet I needed him so much, and it was easy to get carried away.
He smiled against my lips, stroking my hair away from my face with a gentle flutter of his hands. He kissed me once more, breaking away before we became indecent. I smiled sheepishly. "I'll see you tomorrow..." I said. He nodded. "I love you." He said. I grinned.
"I love you, too." He smiled that crooked smile that took my breath away, literally—seriously, I was still trying to catch my breath after that kiss. His expression became more serious then. "Does your side hurt?" his brow furrowed, worried. I shook my head, but it did hurt.
His eyes tightened, he knew I was lying. He gingerly lifted my shirt up to my bottom rib, and hissed. I bit my lip, pulling my shirt down trying to cover the pink mark there. "Tomorrow." I said finally. His fingers lingered on my waist, he leant down, kissing the tender spot.
The breath caught in my throat. It was such a sweet thing to do, so couple-y. I watched him walk up the stairs and drag his feet through the door.
I smiled down at my feet before starting the engine again. I sighed, the movement sort of hurt my side. I scowled then.
I unconditionally and irrevocably hated Mike fucking Newton.
^ That was one of my most proudest moments. Working that line into it. Completely different context. Favourite line in this chapter. :D Did you notice the Twilight references? The Claire De Lune? The apple? That line just above here? The sleep over? Hot wasn't it? Hehe. Anyways. Thanks for reading. Love you guys. xoxo. R&R
Edward rocks my boat. ;)