*~*Long time, no see? Yes, I am back with some updates. Been forever since I write any type of fanfics and I feel like shit for making ya'll wait so long. Hopefully you forgive me? But long ass A/N at the bottom if interested.

I do not own any recognizable characters, places, etc.. The plot however, is mine.

Sighing after being directed to voicemail for the twelfth time today, I snapped the phone shut, willing the angry tears away.

Emmett was avoiding me. He was purposely ignoring my calls, texts, fuck he even ignored my insistent banging on his bedroom door. Mrs. McCarty didn't say anything about my sudden need to nag her only son, but I saw the concern in her eyes. She probably thought I was sprung on Em or something. Gross.

Rose was trying her damnest to get her asshole boyfriend to talk to me, but no dice. I forgot how stubborn and how much of a dick he could be. Never thought I'd be the one he would direct this asshole-ness to.

I played with the phone in my hands nervously. Two days, no answer. Was I the freakin' plague suddenly? Cause I didn't get the memo.

Looking at it from Em's perspective, what I did was without a doubt bitchy. Not only did I repeatedly bone his best friend and keep it a secret, but I threw away his and Rose's friendship. And for what? A cheating fuck buddy and a fake bestie that would sell my organs to the black market if it got her a new pair of Menolos.

If I was being honest with myself, something I've failed to do, I deserve much worse than the silent treatment from Em. I should be chucked off one of the cliffs in La Push and left there to rot on the ocean floor. Drowning must be uncomfortable. Fishes had to be aliens cause that living underwater thing seems too cray.

I shook my head at that random thought and flipped open my phone. Just one more time. He might answer.

God, he probably thinks I'm almost, if not crazier than Jessica Stanley...and that bitch was a couple toons from being totally loony.

I dialed the number and bit my lip as the dial tone rang in my ear. Breathe, Bella, breathe. He's away from his phone, it's on silent and he's sleeping. Maybe he's in the bathroom taking a dump and can't pick up. Ew I made a mental note to bleach my brain to get rid of that god-awful mental image.

Just as I was about to hang up, a gruff voice answered with a very rude "what do you want?"

Well, hello to you, too, asshole.

"Maybe I wouldn't be acting like an asshole if you hadn't lied about fucking my boy," Em spat viciously. Guess my filter still wasn't going to come back any time soon.

The tone he was using was really annoying me and the shit he was saying was pissing me off. You would think I killed his dog, and that mutt he owned was definitely not going to be dying any time soon.

And when the fuck did he start referring to Jasper as his 'boy'? Fuck that. "First of all, I never once lied to you. So get off your high horse Sir McCarty. And I had no idea the asshole spawn was your 'boy'. Tell me, did that friendship bloom after or before you hit him?"

Em breathed roughly before I heard a loud succession of bangs against my door. The fucking idiot was actually yelling at me from outside my room while remaining on the phone.

"Oh now you wanna talk to me, dick." I mumbled into the phone. I was actually terrified of what exactly Emmett had to say to me. He was like an older brother and disappointing him was worse than the pope damning you to a life in hell for eternity. Luckily for me, I didn't believe in religion.

I mean, an invisible dude floating on clouds, allowing some jerks to kill the fruit of his loins. Whoever wrote that story needed to pass whatever they had cause I want some of that stuff.

Whoa, wrong thought trail. Focus on the asshole breaking down your door.

Mustering up my inner Cowardly Lion, I snapped my phone shut and walked over to my door. Em was still knocking and screaming like a banshee. My parents must have gone somewhere cause they would have told Em to knock it off already. Or maybe not; they adored the guy. Figures.

I threw open the door and had to quickly dodge the fist that was meant to bang on the door. I shot a glare at the giant crowding up my hallway, before I walked stiffly to my bed and parked my ass on the edge. Better make myself comfortable for the Grizz Rage.

"Are you stupid or stupid? Jasper? The dude that only knows you as "Rosalie-big-tits-Hale's-best-friend? I thought you were a fucking genius, Bells, but fuck, you might as well be a fucking retard!" Em's eyes were blazing with a barely contained rage and each one of his muscles were shaking. He was pissed.

Still didn't give him the right to yell at me like I was a goddamn seven-year old.

So I got up from my bed and walked over to him to show him who was boss.

Emmett was at least a foot and a half taller than me; I think my thigh was the size of his forearm, so I wasn't sure why I thought I could intimidate him. Aren't I stupid.

I craned my neck up, up to stare at him and I jabbed a skinny finger into his ribcage. I shit you not, my finger cracked. I winced, but continued with my macho act. If he could yell at me, then I could yell right back at him. See how he likes it.

When I looked up into his eyes, though, all my anger melted away and regret and pain filled me. I fell the tears well up and the air whoosh out from my lungs, almost as if I got sucker punched in the gut.

He wasn't angry that I slept with Jasper. He was angry that I only told him about Jasper because I had no control over my drunk mouth.

I fucked up. i really fucked everything up this time.

A choked sob broke the silence and as my knees gave out, Em's arms swooped me into a bone-crushing hug. His face was in my hair and he was patting my head to get me to stop crying. I had to smile because even when I royally pissed him off, he still cared.

His voice was gentle when he spoke this time. "Of course I care, Bells. Anybody that fucks with you, fucks with me. Best friend or not, I had to kick his ass."

I sucked in a deep breath and shook my head. He fought Jasper. He actually physically attacked his friend. Oh fuck. Jasper probably hated me. He won't talk to me ever again. Hr hated me, hated my every being. What did I do?

Emmett huffed and gently shook my shoulders. I looked up at him with wide eyes, trying to stop the panic creeping up my throat. I was gonna have an anxiety attack if I didn't calm down soon. But how was I supposed to stay calm when I was the reason Em fought Jasper. I was practically a co-assistant-whatever in an assault. Oh God, could I get arrested? Emmett! He could be thrown in jail. Shit. I fucked everything up.

I was jarred out of my rapidly changing thoughts once again. Em was blabbing about how no charges were gonna be pressed because Jasper got a justified ass whooping. Really, I needed him to shut up so I could think through the crazy shit.

"Besides he didn't fight back. Took every single hit." Now that got my attention.

My head snapped in Em's direction and I felt the anger returning. Mood swings galore.

In the calmest voice I've ever used with him, I asked him to repeat what he just said. He did. I nodded slowly. He looked at me with apprehension, clearly wary of the argument that I was about to kickstart.

Quick as lightning, I punched his shoulder as hard as I could. We cussed at the same time, cause shit, I kept forgetting he's Mr. Zero-Percent-Body-Fat.

His arms dropped from around me as he cried out in surprise. "What the fuck, Bella? I thought you'd be happy about me beating that pussy's ass!"

I wiped the angry tears away and gave Em the stink eye. "No, asshole, I am not fucking happy. You aren't allowed to go HAM on random ass people. You're ass could be carted off to jail. All because you wanna be real macho. I could handle my shit. I don't need-"

"Bullshit!"

I gaped at him, my eyes bugging put of my skull. Did he just interrupt me? Oh hell no.

My mouth was open to speak up but he cut me off before I could start.

"You couldn't handle this shit with Jasper if you even tried. He fucked around with your heart. You may not be my blood, but damn you're like a little sister to me. I couldn't let that shit slide. I couldn't fucking dream of it. I'm sorry if you don't like what I did, but that asshole knew he fucked up. When I showed up at his house, he knew why I was there and he took it. At least he owned up to that."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. That hangover was still torturing me, most likely cause I haven't eaten anything other than stale crackers for the past two days. My mom's fault for forgetting to restock the kitchen. I needed a drink or something.

Emmett's phone rang, and all I could focus on were the words "mammals" and "discovery channel" blaring out of his phone speakers. Normally I would laugh at the ridiculous ringtone, but I was on a roller coaster of emotions...and I wasn't even on my rag, yet.

The music ended abruptly and I looked up at Em. His hand was clenched around his phone and if his eyes were lasers, the plastic object would have exploded by now.

He looked back at me and asked me an unexpected question.

"Do you love him?"

I wanted to cry again. Maybe I was cause my hands were being pelted with drops. I wanted to scream at Em for asking me the one question I was avoiding asking myself. But I had to be honest. No more lying to him, to myself.

Licking my lips, I gasped a little at the pain in my chest. Fuck. I did love that asshole. I loved him enough to make a fool of myself repeatedly. But fuck, I hated him, too. I had to hate him.

"No...yes, I dunno, Emmett! My heart hurts so damn much. I don't want to think about it. I want to forget about him and that bitch. And why does it hurt so fucking much Em?" I was mess. A fucking mess.

Emmett didn't say anything, just wrapped me up in a hug that lifted my feet off the ground. He was a brother to me and was only looking out for my heart. How could I be mad that he did something so noble?

I gripped his shirt and whispered my thanks non-stop. He needed to know that I was grateful of everything he has ever done for me. He had to know.

I was a bitch and didn't deserve him or Rosie, but they were my besties. My family in this dump of a town. I was the shitty factor in this equation, and they would always be the reliable ones. The ones that would always have my back. I loved them and I was an idiot for thinking I could forget and replace them.

After I cried myself out, I pretended to blow my nose on his plain gray shirt. When he whined about how gross I was, I giggled and wiped my eyes with a hand. We looked at each other, tiny smiles on our lips. It was good. Our friendship was good. Thank the founders.

I threw out my pinky and smirked as he raised his eyebrow silently. When he didn't offer his pinky in return, I huffed in frustration before forcefully intertwining our little fingers together.

"I promise that from now on I will tell you everything. I guess even my sex life since you wanna take on the big bro role. I promise no more secrets, ever."

He gave me a goofy ass smile and we shook on it. Damn, I was gonna have to call Rose and tell her how her boyfriend was not being a douche anymore.

"I don't want you anywhere near him." Em told me in a serious tone.

I gave him an incredulous look and scratched the top of my head like the dumbass I was. When the fuck did he become my dad? He already beat Jasper's ass, which I still felt guilty about, so why the fuck was he even telling me what to do?

Plus he ruined a perfectly awesome moment between us. And managed to announce the obvious. Of course I was gonna stay away from the asshat. There was only so much heartbreak I could take.

My phone started to ring and I looked down at the caller ID.

Edward Masen.

My mouth dropped open and I gaped at the phone like it was some kind of mutant monkey. This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. First, Em came over to my house after not speaking me to for two days and now Edward Masen, the dude I decked for kissing me, was calling? I could feel the headache returning. I just got rid of that damn hangover.

Em glared at me before reaching out for the phone. I moved my arm before he could grab the phone and started walking out of my room. "Who is it?" Em called after me impatiently.

I narrowed my eyes at him and told him, "Nunya Beeswax."

Oops there goes the no secrets rule. Ah fuck, I'll tell him as soon as I find out what Edward fucking Masen wanted.

Snapping the phone open, I was about to say hello, but was quickly cut off by the velvety voice I've come to hate. "Bella, I need your help."

Oh great, just what I needed. A desperate Masen expecting me to be at his beck and call.

"This better be good," I stated in a saccharine voice. I didn't want to be a bitch, but fuck it. He hung out with Alice and by association, he was the enemy. Besides, I still haven't forgotten how he practically mouth-raped me.

"Alice wants to know if you're having as much fun as she's having with Jasper." His voice was cruel and I could picture the sneer on his face.

Fuck him and fuck Alice. Fuck Jasper, too.

I hung up and looked at Emmett, who was looking at me expectantly. I shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was not a big deal. Even though it stung like a bitch.

"Masen wanting to fuck with me." My voice was void of all emotion, but when I glanced at Em, I saw his eyes flash. He was pissed, again.

His voice was extremely quiet and it was scary but his words brought a smile to my face.

"Fuck them."

*~*Really does feel good writing this story again. I won't lie to any of you. I have been working through my depression and for a couple of months it was really bad, so bad that I started picking up self-destructive habits. You never quite realize how much of a crappy mess you are until others intervene. No specifics, but I got the swift kick in the ass that I needed and switched therapists, hell I even switched degrees. There's still days where I can't shake these ugly feelings and I guess it will get better eventually. But thanks to all of my readers for instilling hope in me. Thank you, thank you.

STORY NOTES: Song mentioned as Emmett's ringtone is The Bad Touch, Bloodhound Gang. Personally, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. Simply because I got to write friendly fluff between Emmett and Bella.

Any comments about the chapter, put em in a review. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Even if you think it was crap.

~geek