Chapter Nine – Laws of Attraction (Musings and Misinterpretations)

Disclaimer: Hadn't done this in awhile…We don't own twilight. Though I have a wonderfully sparkly Edward next to me. That's right. Be jealous. But go ahead and read on. You guys deserve it for being so amazing and sticking with us!! *hands you virtual cookie!*

"Shit!" Emmett threw down his gun in frustration.

I broke out into uncontrollable laughter. This would be the twelfth game we've won. And he still thinks he can beat us. I looked to my right and realized that Jasper was in the same position as me; leaning on the gun like a crutch, bent double in laughter. I caught his eye and it made me laugh harder.

Emmett trudged over looking dejected and like a sick puppy. He was completely covered in blue and yellow paint spots. As for Jasper and I, we had maybe five or six a piece.

"Come on," he grumbled, stomping away. We started after him towards the shop to turn in the gear. This was definitely one of the better days I'd had since moving here; other than my first day when I saw Bella.

I mentally sighed. I had not spoken a word to her or her to me in about four days. It was strangely quiet and I didn't like it one bit. I'd tried a couple times at lunch. But Alice or Rose always butted in with a question for her or the bell would ring.

One thing was for sure though. She was happy. Well…not according to the occasional glares I'd received over the past few days. So maybe she wasn't happy?

I shook my head in confusion. I had no idea.

"So," Jasper began, startling me out of my trance. "You ready for homecoming?"

I looked at him, confusion coloring my features. "What do you mean?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "You've clearly never done this before."

I shook my head, chagrinned. I never cared much for dances, so I just didn't usually go. Not to mention, I wasn't exactly the most popular guy at Denali High School. I was just average. And the same could be said here, I guess. Except that Alice and Rosalie (and by association, Bella) were rather used to being noticed. Though they didn't rule the school, much respect was held for all three of them; Jasper as well. So, it only made sense that Emmett and I would somehow fall into their 'spotlight.'

"Do you have a suit?" he asked stupidly.

I looked at him incredulously. "Duh," I stated.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Okayyy, do you have a tie that matches her dress?"

"Who in the world is going to care if our colors match?" Seriously, that made no sense. It was like asking to be made fun of.

"You're kidding," he responded. I shook my head once more. "Edward, this is a big deal to the girls. It's a tradition for the colors between the guy and girl to correspond. So, find out what color her dress is as soon as you can."

I nodded vaguely.

"Now, about corsages."

"What about them? I just go and buy one right?"

"Wrong," Jasper said bluntly. "You have to make sure there's a tiny bit of color in the corsage that matches with her dress and your tie. I mean, think about it. What if you gave her a purple colored corsage for a green dress?" He shook his head as if the idea was preposterous.

"Dude, you spend too much time with Alice," I said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Shut up," he said defensively. But, clearly it didn't work, because at that moment, Emmett walked up and made a whip cracking sound and motion.

I chuckled, but Jasper just looked pissed. "Jazz, you need to chill. I'll be fine."

"Your funeral," he mumbled.

With that, we jumped into the car and drove home.

After a rather quiet dinner with my parents and brother, I headed upstairs to do some research for my Government paper that was due on Monday. Out of habit, I signed on to AIM and noticed Bella was online. I ignored it and found that Leah was as well.

I sent her a quick message asking about her dress color and found out it was silver. I made a mental note to go to the store tomorrow and find a silver tie. I quickly told her I had things to do and would talk to her later. I just wasn't in the mood to talk right now. Correction: I wasn't in the mood to talk to her right now.

Before I closed the AIM window, I noticed Bella's name sitting there, egging me on.

Hmm…I hadn't talked to her in awhile. Would things be awkward? I decided to chance it and typed a greeting.

(A/N: Bold is Edward and Italics is Bella.)

Hello, Isabella.

I only called her Isabella when it was just the two of us. It had been a long time since I'd had the opportunity and only wished I had the chance to say it aloud.

Hi, Edward.

How are you?

Pretty good, I guess. Just got back from dress shopping with the girls.

I did not miss the 'I guess' of her statement. Something was up.

What's wrong, Bella?

Nothing. What makes you think something's wrong?

I don't know. You haven't talked to me in four days; you give me death glares when you think I'm not looking…what am I supposed to think of that?

Maybe you're just imagining things.

Oh no…no, no, no, no! She was not playing mind games with me! I've been messed with by too many girls and I wasn't letting Bella be like every other girl. She wasn't like them. She was unique, perfect….

Isabella, stop it. I'm not falling for that. I know something's up. Care to explain?

Not really.

Well, that's helpful, I thought sarcastically.

Damn it, Isabella.

I clicked the webcam button and her face and room appeared right before me. I was shocked, to say the least. One look told me things were not okay. She sat there holding in her hand something silvery that I recognized instantly.

I saw a tear slip down her cheek, but before I could say a word, her head snapped up. An emotion ran across her face. A look I'd seen before on other people, but never on my Bella. Distrust. And it scared the crap out of me.

Her hand reached up to the top of her laptop and slammed it closed leaving the picture pitch black in emptiness.

All I could see was her face wet with tears and her small delicate hands grasping the silver necklace I had given her so many years ago. The simple, yet elegant scripted 'E' studded with fake diamonds was a Christmas and parting gift.

Flashback:

The flickering fire in the commons room that adjoined the boys' dormitories and a large study was empty except for the two of us. Best friends from the time Bella had stumbled across my room when she was lost, I couldn't imagine living in this Godforsaken place without her. But here we were, just weeks before her departure to live with a new family that would love and comfort her; parents who adored her, a sister to play with. It was everything a child in this place could hope for. It was everything I wished I had. But Bella deserved it. She was perfect; a true friend, pure at heart; everything I wanted to be.

So when the orphanage had taken us on our yearly Christmas shopping trip with the ten dollars of pocket money, most of the kids bought candy or something to enjoy for a short time before the reality of this place settled in their minds. But not me; I bought Bella a necklace. It was cheap of course, and not the best of quality, but I was twelve. What could she expect?

"Speed!" she shouted as she slapped the smallest pile of cards between us.

Oops…I had forgotten we were playing. Zoning out seemed to be a problem of mine…

"Yes! I finally beat you!" she exclaimed with excitement. It was true. I always won.

"I have something for you," I said suddenly.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Okay," she said.

I reached behind me, underneath the couch and felt the small square package that held her gift.

"Here you go," I said softly. "Merry Christmas, Isabella."

"Edward you didn't have t-"she started.

"I know," I cut her off. "Just open it."

She opened the box (I didn't have any paper) and stared. "Oh," she whispered, nearly inaudibly. A shaky hand reached out to remove the necklace from its box. It was silver with an initial 'E' on it. So she could remember me when she left.

"May I put in on you?" I asked timidly.

She nodded vigorously and lifted her chestnut hair away from her neck. I came around behind her and fastened the necklace at the base of her neck.

After letting her hair fall, she turned around to give me the sweetest smile I had ever seen. She just radiated happiness and never failed to bring me out of whatever depression I could possibly fall into. I pulled her into a long embrace willing God to make her stay with me. As selfish as that sounds, I'd like nothing better. It tore my heart to know we probably would never see each other again.

"Um, Edward?" she said softly.

"Hm?" I responded.

"I have something for you as well." I smiled as her face turned an appealing shade of pink.

She reached behind a pillow that lay on the couch and emerged with a long rectangular package.

I smiled tightly not wishing to shed a tear at this point. These tears would be saved for another time.

I took the box gingerly and removed the top.

Before a single word could leave my mouth or before I thought could formulate in my head, several tears broke through and slid down my face.

Inside the box lay a thin brown suede band with a letter 'I' tied into it. Because I was the only one to call her Isabella. I was the only one she allowed to call her that. And this simple gesture assured me that we would never forget each other. Because even without these tokens of friendship, we had made such an impact on each other's lives that it was impossible to forget one another.

She took the liberty of putting the bracelet on my wrist. And there it would stay. As long as she was in my thoughts, the bracelet would not leave my wrist.

End flashback

I looked down to my shirt covered wrist to see the same bracelet resting on the same wrist. It had endured showers, swimming, sports, and who knows what else; yet there it sat.

No one knew I wore it. Not even my parents or Emmett. I'm not sure Bella even realized I still wore it. It was my secret.

I quickly changed into some more comfortable clothes and left the house for a run. I needed to clear my head.

As I ran, the bracelet jiggled on my wrist, mocking me silently along with Isabella's tear ridden face.

A/N: Soooo yeah...It's short. Sorry 'bout that. But I gave you a chapter!! That's good, right? And it was sad huh? But things look up eventually. Be patient! Love you all for your continuous support! Review please and thank you! It makes us glow with pride!! :D ~Mack