Okay I have to say this but - I AM SHOCKED! With last chapter I mean because the chapter that I expected the least reviews actually got the - uh, MOST reviews, honestly! I checked! WOW! Maybe I should do more Tanya and Edward fluff instead, though I don't see how any fluff of theirs was in the previous chapter. Hmmm...

This chapter, I'll be honest. I don't think I need to rate it M because, it's not that...well I don't think it's M material if you get what I'm saying. It's roughly around Eclipse Chapter 20 - Compromise sort of level I think. Hey, I did rate this story T so we should stick to T right? (laughs)

Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight. I own a computer for writing fanfics for it though.

Playlist - One of These Days by Michelle Branch

Meh - I was thinking of a different song but I checked the lyrics for this song and I thought it was quite appropriate :) I love Michelle Branch anyway. I think all her songs are amazing!

I Won't Be Afraid of Staying With You

Bella's POV

I stared momentarily lost in his captivating green eyes before coming back to my senses. "Where to?"

Honestly, it's not that difficult with that look you're giving me, I thought.

He leaned over to whisper into my ear over the noise. "Come."

Just as we were walking down the hallway, I heard Alice calling from behind, "Be careful of Edward, Bella!"

Jasper voice soon followed. "Yeah, he might get into his birthday suit!"

I nearly burst out laughing when I heard Emmett yelling, "Call us if he loses it! We'll rescue – ouch! Rose, it was just a joke!"

Edward was snickering to himself. I shook my head at head and something about that tone of his voice reminded me of something. As we were walking down the hallway towards the car park, I remembered that the way he invited me to follow him was exactly the same as the first day I had ever seen him when he offered me a lift home after History.

"I hope you don't take what they say seriously," Edward said as he unlocked the car.

I laughed as I opened the door. "Why? Should I?"

Edward started up the engine and flashed his perfect smile at me. "You trust me, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "If I didn't, Edward, I'd be figuring out a way how to put my self defense to good use right now."

Edward laughed and as usual, it mesmerized me. It was so melodious that I'm sure mine would be seen as someone choking compared to his enchanting one.

"Sorry I didn't manage to get you a present. I didn't know what you would like or need."

"It's alright. You being there was just what I needed."

"Or maybe you just have everything already…" I muttered.

Edward grinned. "I heard that…"

But when he pulled up into the front porch of his house, I looked at him strangely.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward to unbuckle mine. I just looked at him, trying to understand what he was doing. He looked up at me and his gaze melted right through mine.

"Do you mind coming to sit at the back with me?"

I sucked in my breath sharply. "At the –?!" but realizing my tone a little too harsh, I tried a little softer this time. "The backseat, you mean?"

"Yes."

I thought he was making fun of me for a second but the intense eyes were telling me otherwise. What on earth was this guy trying to do?

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out what my mind was thinking. "Are you high?"

Edward fought back a laugh. "No, I don't think so."

"What if your Mum or Aunt sees us? That'd be a good impression."

"Don't worry. They sleep really early. And I mean really early."

When I threw him my skeptic look, he batted his long eyelashes that made my heart beats speed up. "For me?"

I glared at him. "You are the worst fiancé I've ever had."

As I crawled to the back, trying my best to make sure my skirt wouldn't slide up to reveal my under dress, he chuckled, "I'm your only fiancé you ever had."

When he soon followed after me, I automatically scooted to the side, making sure there was a little space between us. He straightened up and arched an eyebrow at the empty area separating us.

"Don't take it the wrong way. It's not that I'm not feeling safe with you. I just want to be ready incase you plan to do anything that would take me by surprise."

"Not that I'm complaining or anything…" I added under my breath.

Edward grinned again. "Bella, I'm generally yours as you are mine ever since we were in diapers. You can't tell me you're worried about just sitting here with me?"

I stuck my tongue out teasingly. "Better safe than sorry, right? You might be losing it right this moment…"

Suddenly, Edward advanced forward and flipped over onto his back, allowing his head to rest on my lap. He lifted his legs onto the seat and adjusted himself properly before closing his eyes.

He sighed. "This will do…"

I knew my face was heating up and I wondered if he could hear my loud heart beats that were hammering in my ears. I counted to ten in my head before I began to relax once more and I leaned back against the seat. His hand reached up to take mine and I used my other free hand to brush through his perfect bronze waves.

"So, did you enjoy yourself tonight?" he asked.

I smiled slightly. "Of course…"

"Just out of curiosity, did you think for a moment I wasn't going to come back in time?"

I hesitated before nodding, "At one stage, yes. I thought I was being a little sensitive but when it was so close to the hour when the performance would start, it sure felt that way."

"I don't blame you, though. It's natural to feel that way but, I just want you to know, I'd never do anything to hurt you. You have to learn to trust me. Why do you think I keep asking if you do? Because I know you don't."

His thumb began to stoke my hand. "Not as much as I'd like you to, at least."

"Well, you can be sure that has changed after tonight."

"Mm…"

Then, the question popped into my head. "I know it's probably none of my business but, am I allowed to ask how did it go between you and Tanya? Its fine if you don't –"

"You know you can always ask me anything."

I waited for him to go on and his eyes opened to look up. "Tanya wanted me to wait with her a little longer than just sending her off at the departure terminal. And she sent me off in the end, telling me that I would be late."

He stopped for a while but when he continued I realized he was choosing his words very carefully. "Tanya wanted me to hug her before I left."

I pressed my lips together. I knew better than to be jealous but I couldn't help it. I could already visualize how the scene looked like. When I was embracing him, I felt security and probably even, the closest thing to heaven. What would it have felt like for Tanya?

He must have interpreted my silence and read my thoughts for he sat up immediately to pull me into his arms.

"You're the only one who has my heart, Bella…" he whispered, running his hands through my hair this time.

When I didn't answer, he pulled back to look at me. He looked at me sideways for a moment. We sat there in silence for a while before I finally broke away from his gaze to look down at the buttons on his shirt.

"Are you…?"

I moved my hands up to try my best to look interested in smoothening out the creases against his shirt. "Am I what?"

"Jealous?" and I could hear his voice heavy with amusement.

I immediately shot my head up to look at him, but avoiding his gaze. "No!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Right. And I'm guessing your sudden silence had something to do with my shirt being crumpled now?"

"Sounds about right."

Edward suddenly started laughing. I stared at him furiously and pushed him away as hard as I could but it only made him laugh harder.

"You would feel the same if I had to hug Jacob!" I declared fiercely.

Edward then cut his laughter short and pulled a serious face. "Is that a threat, Ms. Swan?"

"Maybe…"

He moved forward slightly and his breath blew in my face. "Fine. I dare you to walk right out of this car now and get Jacob Black to come out so you can give him a hug right in front of me."

I gritted my teeth. "But that won't matter because you know it's just a dare. You won't feel anything."

He stretched up against the seat and then folded his arms. "You've got a point but you probably wouldn't do it anyway."

I was probably fuming because his face looked slightly bewildered at my expression. "Try me."

Before my hand could reach the door handle, Edward's slender hands grabbed my other arm, pulling me towards him again. But this time, he made sure I was lying near him with both his arms cradling me, one across my chest so I couldn't move anymore. He had cleverly placed me up against the car door so I was, well, technically cornered.

His green eyes were smoldering in the darkness and his face was just inches away from mine now. "You take my words too much to heart, Bella."

He leaned down to murmur against my neck, "Though, you are rather entertaining when you are jealous. Your reactions are worth the hassle…"

My words came out in short gasps. "Don't tempt me, Edward…"

He looked back up to kiss my cheeks. "Tempt you? To run to Jacob Black or for you to stay here with me?"

I could have bitten my whole tongue of for even suggesting it. It was too late now. He had tugged on the right strings and I was fighting a losing battle again. My noble side was fading fast. I wanted my hands to move his arms away from me so I could sit to a more appropriate position, but I lay there – frozen.

"I – uh…"

His lips moved up to brush against mine. "Your mouth says no but your body is saying otherwise…"

I groaned and joked, "No, you are not seeing any part of my body except what you see right now. Not until I come around to start doing sit ups and calorie burning for my poor flabby tummy."

He just snorted, shaking his head. "You're perfect, just the way I like it…"

"Edward, I'm warning you. I can't af –"

His mouth enveloped on mine and my heart was beating like a maniac because this kiss was a little more intense than the rest before. I could feel his tongue trailing against my top lip then it moved down to the lower base. His hands were gently moving up and down my arms and down my waist. Occasionally, he would break away for air but his lips still rested against my neck again or my forehead. He was flawless, unlike me who would be gasping like what Jasper once referred me to – a fish out of water.

Then, finally he slowed down, becoming gentler before stopping completely and chuckling softly. "That probably burned up a few pounds for you."

I was still trying to regain my consciousness back. "You nearly had me there. I thought you were about to go all the way"

He winked. "Don't worry, I'm not that urgent. That can wait."

I couldn't help but feel a little insulted. "Am I that repulsive till you don't even have those raging testosterones taking over your rationality?"

He pulled me back up so I was sitting on his lap. "Oh, don't worry. It took every single strength of my gentlemanly courtesy to make sure I wouldn't lose control like Jasper and Emmett were so convinced would happen. You're very tempting, I'll give you that"

"There's a 'but' there…"

He laughed softly and whispered into my ear, "Respectfully, I think our first intimacy can do better than at the back of my car, Bella."

My face was hot again as I realized what he was saying. "You never fail to amaze me…"

Then, his face turned serious once more. "I want you to move over tomorrow."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Tomorrow?"

It was his turn to frown at me. "I've given you a lot of time actually. Probably more than I should."

I tapped the tip of his nose gently. "Alright…"

He seemed taken back at my sudden agreeable mood. "Why so tolerant? I thought you wouldn't let me have my way without a little struggle."

"I mean, it's not that I don't want to stay with you. It's just that sometimes I hear about couples who get sick of each other even before they get married because of cohabitating together. I don't want that to happen to us…"

He lifted a hand to tuck my out of place strands behind my ear. "I promise you that will never happen."

"Never say never."

"Well, we can work on it. Everyone has to start somewhere, and we can start from here. Whatever happens, we shouldn't keep anything from each other."

He paused for a moment before saying, "Even if, you do happen to fall in love with someone else because sometimes, feelings fade, I'll admit to that."

"I would never –"

"Like you said, never say never. I can always assure myself that I've never felt this way about anyone before. No one else had managed to steal my heart like you did. It would be hard for me to fall in love with someone else again after you, if let's just say, anything were to ever happen. It's good to consider all possibilities."

"I can tell myself that too," I insisted.

Edward smiled at me bleakly. "It's harder for me to imagine that though. You might one day think I'm in the way of your pursuit of your dreams and aspirations or want something a little more than me. Before you, I was a rather arrogant person about my affairs. Always so high with elevated beliefs on how I would conduct myself. I suppose my upbringing with Caroline sparked a rebellious period. Alice was always telling me how the girl I was betrothed to would be living with hell itself after the marriage."

"How wrong she was…" I laughed softly.

"I'll consider myself far more than lucky that you turned out to be that girl. I know I can learn to accept another in my life, but to love someone the way I do for you, that's something entirely different altogether. Now do you see what I mean when I say it's only you I'm referring to when I say about falling in love with someone else?"

I twisted my mouth. "I'll be honest though. You're right. Maybe it's much easier for me to be attracted to someone else compared to you. But I can tell you, it won't be so easy for me to fall in love. At least, not in the way I am right now for you. Nothing could compare to this."

Edward rested his forehead against mine. "That's a rather bold declaration."

I thought about something for a moment before saying, "You know, Renee once told me a long time ago something about marriages."

"Hmm?"

"She told me that if I was ever given a choice to choose who I wanted to marry, I should choose the one I can't live without, not the one I can live with. And I know who I can't live without right now."

Edward leaned up to kiss me softly again and I reached up to knot my hands into his hair. I could stay here with him forever. There was really nothing that could compare to this moment with him right now. It took a moment before it could sink into my thoughts that Edward was mine. And hopefully would be for as long as I could possibly have him. It was ironic how the very first time I laid eyes on him, it occurred to me that this beautiful boy was clearly out of my reach – considering how he looked like a Greek God and I looked like a mere commoner.

He whispered against my lips, "I'm sorry to break up the moment but I think Jacob Black is going to get very suspicious if I don't return you anytime soon."

"He'll live…" I muttered.

"As much as I'd like you to just remain here with me, you need some sleep too. It's been a rather eventful day. I wouldn't want those rings to start forming under those brown eyes. Although I'm sure it would look very suitable as someone who lost a fight with their pillow."

I smiled, shaking my head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

As we got out from the car and walked out across his garden, he stopped us just before I went into the Black's property. "This is probably as far as I can go."

I sighed. "When will this feud between you and him end?"

He flashed that crooked smile. "Personally, I think it is over, for me since you've become the bridge that connects both the two shores, which obviously I'm on one side of them. I just don't want to be in the way if it's for your friendship – especially if this would affect how you and I will live with each other. I'm more than willing to change a little of my ways for you. For him, I can't be too sure to say the same. That's for you to find out I suppose."

"Again, I am just speechless."

He brushed my cheek with one finger. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll have to pack my stuff, but that probably won't take long, considering I don't own much. I'll probably be taking more time thanking Jacob and his Dad though."

Edward nodded. "You should. And I don't mind if you want to take some time off with Jacob before you finally come over to live with me."

I smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."

He began to lean forward to kiss me, but suddenly pulled back grinning, "Goodnight, Bella."

I stared at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering what it would be like if we stayed mutual till tomorrow. I was a little all over you just now so maybe I think I'll just be on my best behavior and just wish you goodnight now."

I pouted. "Not fair."

"See.You.Tomorrow," Edward emphasized each word mischievously before gesturing me to go.

I frowned as Edward winked once more. "I never said I would play fair, love."

"What if I went over and begged them to let you stay here?" Jacob offered the next morning.

I carefully made the bed up and started to clear all my books and papers from the desk into my bag. I crumpled up all my raw notes and made a mental note to re-write them neatly again later.

"No. You knew this day would have to come sooner or later."

"But I want you to stay!"

I sighed. "I've probably extended my stay here longer than I should already. Your Dad has been really amazing to put up with me for this period of time. I can't ask for anymore than that."

Jacob frowned. "That doesn't make sense. You know you are always welcomed here."

"Uh – that's really nice to know that but it's alright."

Jacob watched me take my suitcase out and started arranging my belongings into it. He stood in silence against the doorway like he always did. I could see his face was twisted into an expression of disapproval. I felt really guilty because he really did want me to stay and he thought I was being forced to go over.

"It's my choice too. I want to go over and live with him."

He flinched. "Him? So, you're like, choosing him over me?"

I turned to look at Jacob. "Not in the way you presume it to be. It's just that, he's someone that I'm, well – engaged to."

"You love him, don't you?"

I didn't hesitate. "Yes. Very much."

Jacob didn't say anything after that. I tried to concentrate on finish up my packing as quickly as possible so I could focus all my attention on Jacob after that. It was hard to talk to him while my mind was already preoccupied with something else. Finally, I zipped up my suitcase and placed it on the floor and strapped my bag around my shoulder. Then, I turned around to face the motionless Jacob.

"So, has your Dad left for work yet?"

"Nope. He's still downstairs."

I carried my suitcase and began to walk towards the door. But Jacob didn't budge and I looked up at him in annoyance.

"Jake, this isn't very mature."

"I just want to know a few things though. The first time you ever got to know Masen is when he gave you a ride home on your first day?"

"I think so."

"It kinda makes you wonder. What if I didn't aggravate Mrs. Colby that day and didn't get detention? I would have been with you every step of the way and you didn't have to have Masen as your guide instead."

"He sits next to me in History so I would have known him anyway."

"Yeah, but if you didn't meet him, he wouldn't have to want to try and get to know you better after that. You would have been some normal new kid and all those high and mighty friends of his would have treated you like any other person."

Hmm, Jake does have a point. It all seemed pretty rehearsed, the entire first day. Like everything was fated and planned out, I thought, chuckling to myself.

"Would have things been different for you and me?"

I shrugged. "Well, we shall never know now, shall we?"

Jacob fidgeted.

"Jake, please I need to get through. I want to say thank you to your Dad for everything before he leaves. I don't want to just leave the house without letting him know that. It'd be quite rude."

Jake finally shifted and he reached out to take my suitcase. "Here, I'll help you with that."

I smiled. "Thanks."

It was easier to part with Billy Black. It was obvious that he was more than glad to have me moving over. I suppose putting up with me wasn't something he was very in favor of from the very beginning. None the less, I'm was happy that I at least had a place to stay and someone was willing to take me in.

When we were finally outside in the morning sun, I took a deep breath before saying, "I'm going to miss this house. I know it's just next door, but still, I'm going to miss it."

"Will you miss me?"

"I'm just moving next door. And I'll still be seeing you in school."

"It makes a difference to me."

I looked at him and reach out to pat him on the shoulder. "This doesn't change anything between you and me. You're still someone very important in my life."

His face lit up.

"Even if I'm in love with someone else, you still have a place in my heart –"

"Really?"

"– as a brother," I finished.

"Crap. Well, it's better than nothing. If he were to hurt you, I'm your brother now so I'll expect you to tell me everything he does. Especially if it involves you being hurt emotionally or physically."

I laughed and reached out to take the suitcase. "I'll take it from here, Jake."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Come over for a meal or something next time. Anything, like for breakfast or lunch or dinner. I'm expecting you to sit with me more often now during break since you stay with him now."

I nodded. "I suppose that can be considered."

Jacob frowned. "It's a must. Embry and Quil will be making sure that you will be escorted from your class to our seat if you don't."

I grinned. "Alright, alright."

He handed me my suitcase and then nodded. "Go then. I'll probably end up calling you every time I feel the urge to talk to you. Because normally when I want to talk to you, I'd think I can just go up to your room to look for you. Now I'll realize that the room is empty and that she's living next door instead..."

I felt a pang of sadness for that moment when I saw Jacob's face fall a little when he said that.

"You can call me anytime."

As I walked over to Edward's house, it made me realize, even though I had no parents and no actual home that I could call mine, I felt that I was truly blessed with the friends I had, which included how loyal Jacob stayed for me till the end. No matter what, he would still be the first true friend I ever had before Angela or Alice or Rosalie or anyone else I met.

Edward was already waiting for me at the steps of his front door. He's different though, I laughed to myself.

Damn you Edward, I shall say it again. WHY AREN'T YOU REAL?! (takes a calming breath) I wish I had a guy who would tease me that way. sigh :)

I felt sad for Jacob when I wrote that sentence about him mentioning the empty bedroom and her living next door. Everyone wants to be loved :) Oh and that line where I wrote about Renee telling that to Bella about who she should marry, it was something my Mum told me so yeah, somehow I felt I just had to add that in :) due to the circumstances of Bella not being able to live without Edward. Hey - Stephenie mentioned it too!

So I shall say it again. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Make me a happy person and send it those reviews! Don't be shy! Just say HI! I WON'T UPDATE UNLESS I GET ALOT OF REVIEWS! Okay - I'm not that mean :D

Oh and I think I'll have up to Chapter 20 and this story should finish - but ofcourse knowing me, always too much to say and write will end up going over the limit again. We'll see :)