Again, thanks to everyone for their helpful reviews and comments. And also, thanks for keeping up with this story. I'm glad so many people are truly interested in it, especially when I really doubted myself.

Enjoy the next chapter! There is some pretty heavy stuff here.

~MissSingItAll

Disclaimer: No Twilight for me, Stephenie Meyer owns it all.

EPOV:

The week that followed was miserable at best. Alice resumed taking Bella her homework, so I never actually saw her. It seemed that Bella was trying to distance herself from Alice as well, because on Monday, Alice was in and out of the house within five minutes compared to the usual couple of hours we would spend there before. Alice had climbed back into the Volvo, a somber look upon her face as she held Bella's completed homework in her lap. I tried to apologize - for what, I didn't know - but Alice merely shook it off. "She's just having a bad day," she had said.

Alice still didn't know what happened. So when Bella gave the same reaction the next day, Alice got worried. As this pattern continued, Alice got more and more discouraged after leaving Bella's. I kept silent, knowing that soon I would have to tell Alice about the whole thing.

On Friday, school was, well, school. I went to each class solemnly, trying to concentrate on the work that I had neglected recently. I was doing a Biology assignment in the cafeteria during lunch when I saw that Lauren and Jessica had stopped several feet from our table. Jasper and Alice were in their own little world, and Emmett and Rosalie were staring at the two girls with confusion. I noticed that Lauren and Jessica looked unsure, and they seemed like they wanted to come over to talk to me. As Lauren took a step forward, I locked eyes with her and threw her the nastiest look I could. I was warning her. Talk to me, and you're dead.

I was not used to feeling this angry about anything. But what they did was unforgivable, and if they thought that I would all of sudden change my mind and hang out with them, they had another thing coming. Lauren stopped moving, looking surprised and a little scared. Finally, with a huff and a glare that didn't look even close to threatening, Lauren turned on her heel and walked in the other direction, tugging Jessica with her. I looked back down at my homework, ignoring the curious looks from Emmett and Rosalie.

The rest of the day passed by blankly. I drove Alice to Bella's house so she could drop off her homework, and then I dropped Alice off at Jasper's. He invited me to come in, but I really just wanted to be alone, even if Jasper and I haven't actually hung out in several weeks. I left, telling him that I would just text him or something.

When I got back home, I slowly made my way up the stairs to my room. My mother called for me, asking about dinner and I only gave her a quiet, mumbled response. Her silence let me know that she was concerned, but she never came upstairs to check on me, and for that I was thankful.

I fell onto my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I ran my hands through my messy hair, tangling the strands painfully. Everything with Bella had gone terribly wrong. Lauren and Jessica were horrible, selfish bitches who just had to ruin everything.

When I had pulled up to Bella's house that day, I knew there was something wrong when I saw the two of them standing on her porch, our sacred spot. But what really tore at me was Bella herself. She was dripping wet with tears in her eyes, shivering with a look on her face that was absolutely devastated and broken. When her defeated eyes met mine, I knew then that everything with those girls had to stop.

But Bella believed them. She believed every vile word they said. I tried to convince her that she was beautiful, amazing, everything that those girls weren't. She was everything that I needed. When she asked me to leave, an ache, so raw in its power, punched its way through my chest. I was sure that she wasn't rejecting me; it seemed that she was doing this to herself. But knowing this didn't make the pain any easier.

I had to do something. But, at the same time, I didn't want to push Bella in her already fragile state. I was so frustrated with everything, it felt like I was being crushed with the weight of all the stress. I lay there on my bed, clenching and unclenching my fists in the sheets, trying to release this tightening tension in my chest. As the afternoon grew later, I heard Alice and Emmett eventually come home. A petite knock sounded from my bedroom door. After a few seconds, I heard the door creak open.

"Edward? What's wrong? Mom said that you seemed upset," Alice spoke softly. I rolled over onto my side so I wouldn't have to look at her as she entered my room and shut the door behind her.

"It's Bella," I said brokenly. I could feel my mattress sink down as Alice sat next to me.

"What happened?" she questioned worriedly. I sighed, not wanting to have to relive that afternoon. But I also knew that Alice was a pusher, and she wouldn't rest until she got what she wanted.

I recounted everything, as much as I could. I told Alice about how broken Bella looked, and how I had snapped at Lauren and Jessica, and how Bella closed herself off to me, even though she was clearly in pain. I spoke of my pleading, and of how Bella turned me away. Alice said nothing, even long after I stopped talking. I actually thought she left the room, but then her voice, sad but calm, came from beside me.

"She really does care for you, Edward." I rolled over to look at her.

"She doesn't need to do this to herself, Alice! I wish I could make her see, she doesn't need to listen to those idiots," I ground out.

"But Edward, think about it from her perspective. She's not able go out normally, and all she has ever had is herself to rely on. She probably didn't have high self-esteem to begin with. I mean, come on, she's a girl," Alice shrugged her shoulders, pointing to herself, "we pretty much all hate ourselves from the start. But it's knowing that people care about you and knowing that you have purpose that takes that feeling away."

Alice's words were met with my awed silence. I knew that Alice was a smart, considerate person, but never before had it really shown itself in its entirety. She smiled at me serenely.

"A friend can only do so much. But you, Edward, you have the power to do more. Show her that you care for her. Show her that she has purpose."

The next day, I was up bright and early. I didn't really get that much sleep, but that's what happens when you spend all night trying to think of ways to get through to a girl you care about. I showered and changed into a fresh shirt and jeans, and then I made my way downstairs, stopping only to grab an apple and my car keys.

My mission for today was to find a way for Bella to see that I cared for her, no matter what anyone else says. My first thought was to bring her flowers, so I headed for the nearest florist, which was located in Port Angeles, of course. Pulling up to the tiny little flower shop, I popped into the store right as it opened.

I looked at all the different bouquets, blossoms of brilliant colors grouped together in appealing displays. I passed the lilies and the freesia, the violets and the sunflowers, each grouping beautiful but not quite what I wanted. I walked to the back of the shop, where roses lined every shelf. A single blood red bunch caught my eye. I walked over to it, studying the dark, soft petals. Each rose was a perfect bud, fragrant and saturated with color. Taking hold of the fresh bunch, I brought it to the counter to pay for it, careful not to mess up any of the petals.

The rest of the day I drove around town, trying to find some kind of inspiration for a gift for Bella. As noon peaked, I stopped to get myself some food. I walked into a store to grab a sandwich and ate it as I browsed other stores down the block. I finally stopped in front of the entrance to a small trinkets shop. Finishing off the rest of my sandwich, I pushed in the door and stepped inside, curious.

The shop was very small and cluttered. There tons of random objects everywhere; perfect quirky gifts and toys. I looked into a large jewelry display, where a flash of silver caught my eye.

Sitting on a tiny display pedestal was a silver chain link bracelet. The chain wasn't too thick and connected in swift loops. Attached to it was a delicate glass heart charm, swirled with dark blue, my favorite color on Bella. It was simple, but classy. It was perfect. I had the cashier wrap it up and paid for it all within a few minutes.

The afternoon faded as I made my way back to Forks, throwing rainbows of color across the sky. I kept glancing at the small box and the bouquet of roses, still in water, sitting in the passenger seat next to me, hoping that I would be able to get the chance to give them to Bella.

Entering the familiar setting of the sleepy little town, I drove straight to Bella's house, deciding not to delay this anymore. I pulled up to the curb and parked, shutting the car off and taking a deep breath before finally pushing open my door. I grabbed the roses out of the water but left the box, and walked up to her front door, ringing the doorbell quickly. It seemed a like a lifetime had passed before the door moved open a couple of inches, and I could only see through a tiny sliver of darkness.

"What do you want?" Bella's voice rasped out. I cleared my throat.

"Bella, can we talk? Please?" I pleaded, a slight hint of the desperation I had been feeling slipping through my voice. There was silence for another minute, and then the door finally opened wider.

Bella stood there, tired and defeated. She was wearing black sweats and a band t-shirt, and her hair was around her face in messy waves. Her eyes were empty and slightly pink, as if she had been crying. She stood with an air of helplessness, and it took a lot for me to just stand there and not sweep her into my arms. She looked at the roses I was holding. I extended them out to her.

"For you," I said, watching nervously as she took the bouquet from me. Her eyebrows raised a little.

"Thank you," she responded quietly. "They're beautiful."

"You are beautiful," I spoke out, staring at her intently. She scoffed then, and pushed her way past me to walk out onto the porch. She leaned against the railing, looking out at the street.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I'm here because I care about you very much, Bella. I know that you don't think very much of yourself, but you're wrong. You don't need to be like those other girls. I don't want that. I want you," I insisted, coming to stand next to her. She didn't look at me, but continued speaking.

"That's hard for me to believe," she replied, shaking her head slightly. A pang of hurt hit me in the chest.

"Why?" I whispered. She suddenly slunk down, seating herself near the top step of the porch. She placed the roses into her lap, still not looking at me.

"I wasn't always like this," she explained, and I quickly sat down next to her. She had a very far away look on her face. I could tell that she was about to tell me something major, so I kept quiet, watching her face.

BPOV:

Never before had I talked to anyone about this. Edward sat there in front of me, but I avoided meeting his gaze. I took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to clear my head and focus on the memories. I decided to begin with the start of the whole ordeal.

"My mother married this guy, Phil, two years ago. They were so happy together. I was happy for them. Really," I began. "Their wedding was pretty modest; they did all they could with the combined salaries of a kindergarten teacher and a minor league baseball player. I was the maid of honor, and it fit because my mother was my best friend. I remember that I had to help her calm down right before the ceremony, she was going into hysterics." I faintly smiled as I remembered trying to soothe Renee without ruining her wedding dress.

"The reception had just started, and they were having their first dance. I mostly just stood by and talked to all my mother's friends. Eventually, the food was served and it was time for the toasts. I was planning on just sitting there and watching, but then one of my relatives insisted that I get up and make a speech in front of everyone. I tried to say no, but everyone kept at it, and eventually I was forced up there in front of the entire wedding party.

"I completely froze up; I could see that everyone was looking at me and waiting, but I couldn't say a word. I started shaking and I had trouble breathing. It was the worst kind of stage fright," I could see all the faces in front of me, feel the heat of the lights, and hear the near-silence of the room. "I started to cry; it was at that point that they finally took pity on me and tried to get me off the platform. But I couldn't move. Several of the men had to physically yank me away, and when they did it caught me off guard.

"I fell down the stairs leading up to the platform." My face heated up as I felt the embarrassment and the pain all over again. "I wasn't really hurt, just a couple of bruises. But it was humiliating. My mother and Phil had to escort me out of the room, since no one else knew what to do. They didn't understand why I couldn't simply just leave the platform. I couldn't either. I had completely ruined their evening.

"After that, I noticed that it was harder and harder for me to step out in public. I was reluctant to go grocery shopping or anything like that. The little amount of friends that I did have suddenly saw less and less of me as I began to almost hide inside our house. It got so bad that Mom had to take me to the doctor, and then a psychologist. It was then that they diagnosed me with agoraphobia."

I looked up at Edward, and his eyes widened a little, but he kept still and quiet. I took in a shaky breath and continued.

"I mean, I knew that I wasn't the most social person, and had always hated speaking in front of people before. But never had it been that bad. I guess it took one big thing to really trigger it. It was unfortunate that it had to be on a day that belonged to my mother. I completely isolated myself after that. But there was one friend of mine who still came to see me even when the others gave up. Jacob," I kept my head down, "visited me whenever he could. After some time, he became my first boyfriend. It was alright for a while; he would come over so we could spend time together. But I could tell that my whole situation was wearing on him. It was wearing on Mom and Phil, too. Phil had to travel a lot, and Mom always missed him while she stayed behind to take care of me. I was this huge burden to everyone.

"One day Jake wanted to take me out on a date. He wanted to go to this restaurant with me. I really wanted to, but I just couldn't. I told him this, thinking he would understand. But he didn't. 'I'm tired of dealing with you, Bella! You're nothing but a waste of my time,' he told me." My eyes starting tearing up at the memory of his harsh words. "'I'm done dealing with you. I've spent too much time trying to stop your weird behavior, and I'm sick of it! No one will ever want you if you keep acting like this,' he said, and he left me. He just stopped all contact with me. He was the last friend that I had, and then he was gone. A few months later, I finally told my mother that I wanted to move here."

I finished talking, looking down at the wood planks that made up the porch floor. We both just sat there, listening to the stray sounds of the neighborhood. I wondered if Edward was reconsidering his decision to come talk to me. Now that he knew my story, he was probably contemplating never talking to me again. I sighed, trying to prepare myself for the onslaught of heartache that would undoubtedly come when he left.

"I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore. It's perfectly reasonable," I mumbled. It felt like the silence between us had shifted into something more tense. I looked over at Edward to see what changed.

He was gazing back at me, disbelief painted all over his beautiful face. His mouth opened once to say something, but then closed again. He looked away and then looked back, this time his eyes were blazing, passionate.

"Isabella Swan, listen to me. I don't care about all that, I don't care what anyone else says. I want you for who you are, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

I stared back at him, surprised at how forward he was being. He reached forward and took one of my hands in his.

"Please Bella, don't close yourself off to me. I...need you," he trailed off in a whisper.

A gasp left my lips as he wrapped his fingers around my hand. My heart was hopeful, despite the warnings and the distance I'd tried to force on myself before. Edward's words were genuine; I could tell by the way his eyes bore through mine and his overall tired, but desperate, appearance. I wanted so badly to believe him, and I almost did, but I needed absolute reassurance.

"Do you?" I asked him quietly.

"Yes," he asserted, squeezing my hand gently. "I love being with you, Bella. I'm always thinking about you, and I love spending time with you."

He gazed at me insistently, his brow furrowing into a small crease on his forehead. Then suddenly, he straightened up.

"Bella, I have something for you, I'll be right back." He let go of my hand and stood up. He jumped down the stairs and ran back to his car. I watched him open the passenger door and close it again, and when he returned to sit in his spot he was holding a small cream colored box in his hands.

"This is for you," he said, and handed me the box. I looked at it, tracing my finger over the little bow that adorned the top. Slipping the lid off, there was a smaller black velvet case on the inside. I pulled it out and opened it slowly, unsure.

Nestled in the case was a delicate little silver bracelet. There was a blue heart charm hanging from it that glittered in the dimming light of the early evening. It was so pretty, so simple, and I watched in silence as Edward took it from my hands and pulled the bracelet out. He unclasped it and held it out for my wrist. I lifted my hand up and let him slip it around my wrist, hearing the small clink the clasp made as he shut it. I rose my hand so that my wrist was in front of my face. The heart sparkled against my skin, the silver bright and defined over the paleness of my hand.

I looked back at him, feeling pure and utter adoration. I was overwhelmed by this feeling; never before had I cared for someone this much. At the same time, I felt my usual, bitter and cynical self warning me that this could never happen, that I could never have this. Edward smiled at me then, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt like I was wanted, too. I smiled timidly back, shoving that warning into the back of my subconscious. Screw the "nevers," I thought fiercely.

"I want to believe you, Edward. I want to try," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. His smile grew wider.

"That's good enough for me," he declared, victory shimmering in his deep green eyes.

He was really close to me, so close that our legs were touching. A single tear slipped out as I blinked, and he reached over to softly wipe it away. His large hand lingered over my cheek, and then slowly cupped it. I leaned into his touch, feeling the warmth of his skin. His thumb ran over my cheek gently. I looked straight into his eyes, warm and caring and perfect. He leaned in closer then, his eyes flickering to my lips. My heartbeat broke into a run as he moved closer and closer until he finally closed the distance between us, pressing his full lips to mine.

This kiss was so gentle, and yet so intense that it felt like I was drowning in him. He took my top lip between his, nipping and pressing. I did the same with his bottom lip, shaping my mouth around his. My hands reached into his bronze locks, smoothing and tugging. I kissed him back fervently, inhaling his scent and gasping when I felt his tongue trace the line of my lips. I parted my lips a little, allowing his tongue to caress mine. It was all so sweet, I felt more tears flood my closed eyes; tears of joy and passion and surrender.

We reluctantly pulled back for air, and Edward rested his forehead on mine. His hands ran over my arms up and down. We both sighed with contentment, focusing only on each other.

"Thank you," I murmured, and he moved to wrap me in his arms. I leaned on him as he pressed a kiss to my temple.

"I'd do anything for you, Bella," he replied simply. We sat there on the porch, watching as the sky grew darker and darker. I played with the petals of the perfectly shaped roses in my lap as Edward kept me warm, burying his face into my hair. We didn't say anything to each other; everything was conveyed through touches and glances.

Eventually, though, we had to get up. Charlie would be home soon, and I wasn't sure how he felt about me being home alone with a boy. Edward stood first, and extended his hand to help me up. I clumsily straightened up and stood next to him, clutching the roses to my chest. We faced each other on the top step, hesitant to say goodbye. I wrapped myself in his arms once more, and looked up into his gorgeous face. He looked exhausted but gloriously happy, and our lips met once more, just as soft and saccharine as before. He pulled away from me, turning to go to his car.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bella," he called, smiling. I nodded and watched him as he slid into his car and drove off, the bright red tail lights pulsing down the street. I looked down at the bracelet that now decorated my wrist. The blue heart hung from the chain, spinning and twirling, just as my heart felt at that moment. Shaking my head to myself, I inhaled the scent of the roses, the petals tickling my nose, and turned to go inside.

All I knew was that I had never been more excited for a Sunday morning in my entire life.

A/N: I'm trying to put up a link on my profile of the bracelet so you guys can see it, but it doesn't seem to work. Can anyone help me with that?

It feels like with every chapter my writing is improving. Am I improving? Let me know!