AN: So, it's official – I have the best fucking readers in the entire world. Just so you guys know, last week I kind of said that I wanted to break 1K votes as a joke—I mean, I was nearly 200 reviews away from that—but you guys fucking did it and blew me away. I hope everyone enjoyed the teaser ;)

Seriously, I'm obsessed with each and every one of you. Super extra thanks to my beta, Lisa89, and Jules for stepping in last minute.

This is my Christmas present to all of you. I really hope you enjoy it, and I will see you all next week.

~Edward~

The afternoon with Bella had been incredible. I finally felt like I was getting to know Bella the woman, rather than Bella the camper. She had grown up into this crazy, unique person, and I was excited to get to know her.

When I'd seen her swaying to Led Zeppelin, half naked, hair blowing in front of the shoddy fan in the art room, I'd known that I had the perfect ploy to spend more time alone with her…and possibly relive that kiss, if she wanted to.

Oh, the benefits of working in an air-conditioned climate. The ladies just can't say no…

And even though I hadn't received my kiss, I had ended up getting some valuable information. For instance, Bella was insecure in her friendships, which — for the life of me — I couldn't understand. She had to know that Emmett and Rosalie had both nearly chopped off my balls the day I'd pissed her off. They loved her more than life itself, and I highly doubted that either one of them would risk their friendship with her by not being honest. Plus, Emmett wasn't the type to get involved with someone in a relationship, which Rosalie still was, as far as I knew.

When it came to say goodbye, I could barely let her go. I wrapped my arms around her, feeling how comfortable she felt within my grasp. And I noticed that Bella didn't try to escape either. I knew that whatever was happening with us, I needed to address it soon, otherwise one of us would end up hurt — and I wasn't sure I was willing for that person to be me.

This is why you don't do relationships, you pussy, the annoying little voice in the back of my head taunted.

After dinner I got ready quickly, not wanting to waste a single second alone with Bella. The heat of the shower felt good on my tense muscles, despite the unusually oppressing heat of the summer evening. I lathered up my skin, washing off the dirt and grime of the day from my body, spending extra time lazily stroking the hardened flesh between my thighs. Knowing that I should take care of this situation before seeing Bella, I imagined all the things I could do to her alone in the shack tonight before climaxing quickly.

I hadn't done this much jacking off since I was an adolescent. Emily had been right—I was giving up random ass for Bella. And somehow, I was okay with that.

Once outside the shower, I threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt; it was still too hot outside to even think about putting jeans on. Jake was out on the couch, looking relaxed and ready for a night out.

"Hey, where are you headed off to tonight?"

Jake grinned widely, looking like he'd been getting into trouble. "The Lobster Pound. It's karaoke night tonight."

I chuckled, knowing exactly how much Jake loved karaoke night at The Pound. I still remembered the night I'd knew Jake and I were going to be best friends—he'd had had far too much to drink and had taken the microphone up on the bar to serenade a group of hot girls with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." He'd called me over, and we'd ended up hooking up with the two hottest girls of the group that night. I still couldn't believe that we'd been best friends for five years, and he was still up to the same shenanigans.

"What's your count?" I asked, referring to the number of girls he'd nailed so far in the three weeks we'd been here.

"Uhh…seven? I think…"

That caught my attention. "Seriously? Seven? Dude, that's—"

"I know," he grumbled. "I'm behind where I usually am." He looked disappointed in himself, and in that moment I realized what a fucking man-whore he was. How had I never noticed that before?

"I was going to say that's high, but whatever." I laughed, trying to hide my judgmental tone.

"Really? What's your number this summer?" I fidgeted, unable to tell him my number. "Oh, come on, Edward. It can't be that fucking bad. Be a man and fess up."

"Zero, okay?" I exploded, leaving Jake dumbfounded.

"You're not messing with me?" My head shook from side to side, letting him know that I wasn't lying, just changing.

"That's not technically true. I saw you kiss LB. That's one, at least."

"I didn't screw LB, though," I growled, anger welling up inside my chest. I had told myself that Bella wouldn't be relegated to the chuck and fucks that Jake and I had always quickly dismissed, and I was holding true to that word. She would never be in that category. "Whatever, Emmett has zero, too."

Jake barked out a short laugh before looking at me with confusion written all across his face. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be serious?"

"Maybe because he and Rosalie have been fucking for the past two weeks at least," Jake scoffed, as if he thought I'd been joking.

My stomach plummeted, making me feel ill. How had I not known about this? And what was worse was I had assured Bella earlier that there was no way they were hooking up. But they hadn't told me either, and despite the fact I was only slightly hurt by being kept out of the loop by Emmett, my heart started hurting for Bella.

"No. No fucking way."

Jake looked confused. "Yes fucking way, Edward. Every time they say they're going 'to do laundry,' it's code for getting down." He paused. "I thought you knew?"

"How the fuck would I know?" I growled.

"Dude, you seriously need to chill out. This isn't a big deal. How are you even surprised?

I was starting to panic, not for me, but for Bella. I needed to find Emmett and Rosalie and tell them to inform Bella before she found out through other means. Running out of the bunk, I realized that I'd totally blown off Jake, but I assumed that he'd harass me about it later. Right now, I had people to find.

I started off in the laundry room, assuming that if they were "doing laundry" they might be there. Unfortunately, it was just that seedy counselor James, smoking a cigarette and hanging out with some of the kitchen staff. "Hey, you haven't seen Emmett, have you?" I asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

"Nah, sorry." He shrugged and went back to flirting with the kitchen staff girls.

I wandered down towards the lake, seeing people by the basketball court. I jogged towards the shadowy figures, hoping that it was Emmett and Rosalie. As I approached, I could see them clearly. Emmett sat on the lowest bleacher beside the court as Rosalie straddled him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her mouth attached to his.

I would have laughed at them being caught out in the open had I not been so utterly pissed. "What the fuck?" I roared.

At the sound of my voice, Rosalie disconnected herself from Emmett and slid into the bleachers next to him. I rolled my eyes. Right, because I'm going to pretend I didn't see you guys making out.

"Hey, Edward," she said coolly. "What are you doing down here?"

"Emmett," I said in a clipped tone, ignoring Rosalie, "can I talk to you for a second?"

Emmett looked around nervously before nodding and heading over to meet me by the water fountain on the far side of the court. "Sup?"

I nearly growled at him. "Sup? Really? Is this why you've been in a ridiculously good mood for the past week? You've been fucking an eighteen-year old with a boyfriend under everyone's nose and getting away with it?"

Emmett's jaw dropped and his brow furrowed, leaving him looking as if I'd killed his puppy. "We're not fucking."

"That's not what Jake told me."

Emmett swore under his breath and rubbed his neck with one of his free hands. "We were about to last night when Jake came in and interrupted us…but no, we haven't actually…fucked yet."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. But I was irrationally enraged by his actions. "She has a boyfriend, Emmett!"

"Why do you care?" Rosalie added, having joined our conversation, apparently. "Not that it's any of your business, but I just found out that Royce has been screwing my best friend for the past three years, and I'm breaking up with him. I don't want to do it over the phone, but for all intents and purposes, we're broken up. So, what's really bothering you? The fact that I'm eighteen?"

Rosalie had turned defiant quickly, yelling at me loudly, and I couldn't believe that she felt like she had the right to be pissed at me.

"No! I couldn't care less that you're eighteen. I think we all know that I want to fuck an eighteen year old, too!" I shouted, surprising us all and rendering us silent.

My jaw snapped shut. I couldn't believe I'd just said that out loud. Despite my intense desire to get Bella alone and naked, I hadn't actually told anyone – or even really admitted it to myself. Apparently my filter was broken.

Rosalie's mouth struggled to hold back her laughter, forming a tight line, but it finally broke through. Her jovial laughter was enough to lighten the mood and crack my abnormally pissy disposition. "Sorry…sorry," she choked out, her chuckling making her voice crack. "So, you're finally admitting that to yourself?"

I ran my hand through my hair and sighed loudly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good. Denial wasn't so becoming on you," she quipped. And then I remembered why I'd been so pissed in the first place.

"Yeah, it's not so good on you either. You have to come clean to Bella…like a week ago." Emmett raised his eyebrow in question, urging me to continue. "She was freaking out earlier because she was sure you two were lying to her. And if she finds out from somebody else first, she's going to be really pissed. At both of you. And probably me for knowing before her. I hope you're prepared."

Emmett nodded and groaned, understanding how their failure to tell Bella would be perceived as purposefully cruel to her. "I'll tell her first thing tomorrow." Rosalie nodded in agreement. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be with her right now?" Emmett asked. I glanced at my watch and freaked out again. I was now more than an hour late to meet Bella. Fucking Emmett and Rosalie and their distractions.

"Shit. Gotta run." And with that, I bolted, leaving Rosalie and Emmett to pick up exactly where they left off.

I approached the shack, which sat silently in the darkness. My feet picked up their pace as I got closer, needing to see Bella. I hoped she hadn't bolted. I mean, I was really late, and she would have had every right to not wait for me. Damn it.

As the door opened, I was relieved to see Bella still there. She was slumped over one of the computers, deeply entranced in her editing work. She looked so beautiful. The lights were off in the shack, her face aglow with the light from the monitor. I was stunned into silence, only broken by the loud clanking of the wooden door shutting behind me.

At the loud noise, Bella turned and jumped in fright at seeing me there. "Jesus, Edward!" She put her delicate hand up to her throat, attempting to calm her erratic heartbeat. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked, breathless.

"I just got here. I'm sorry…I didn't mean to scare you." The darkness of the room made it come alive with static, and I realized how badly I needed to control myself. Turning around, I flipped the lights on, shattering the unspoken electricity, dulling it with fluorescent overhead lighting.

Bella blinked rapidly, shifting in her seat to clear her vision before training her dark eyes back on me. She looked tired and worried, and I felt like a schmuck for keeping her waiting.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Bella—"

"It's fine, Edward. Is everything okay?" She looked genuinely concerned, and my arms longed to hold her within their embrace, taking her worries away.

"Yeah, just…something came up." It was a poor excuse of an answer, but I couldn't respond with where I'd actually been. Emmett had insisted that he be the one to tell Bella about her relationship with Rosalie.

"Oh." Her head fell, looking everywhere but at me. "Something came up? Fine, Edward. Whatever." She shook her head, and I could see the hurt in her eyes. I'd hurt Bella. This is why you're not good enough for her, the annoying voice in the back of my head came back to taunt me. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough. The information I'd gain from my lunch date would be invaluable. I knew this. I just wished that I could do something in the meantime to make it better.

"Right, so, did you manage to get some editing done?" I asked, trying to keep it friendly. It must not have been the right thing to say because Bella seemed to see it more as condescending than friendly, and I could see the fire build within her, making her temper lash out.

Bella just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms angrily before pulling up the file on iMovie. "Yes, Edward. I actually managed to finish it all by myself. But thanks for finally joining me tonight, anyway," she snapped before turning away and shutting the TV off. It turned out that hurt Bella gave way to angry Bella fairly quickly, and I had no way to make it stop. As far as she was concerned, I'd blown her off for the night after we'd made specific plans. I'd be pissed, too.

"Sorry."

The silence in the shack was deafening as I replayed my own words in my head. I was acting like a complete asshole, and I knew it.

"Um, I'm going to head to the counselor lounge to make some phone calls, but you can look through the cuts I made and make sure everything looks okay." She was equally as dismissive in her tone as I had been, and I fidgeted restlessly, unable to make it better.

"Sounds good," I replied, but she was already gone, the door slamming shut behind her. Sighing loudly, I pulled at my hair and flipped the lights back off. The darkness of the small room mirrored my own shitty mood. I'd had such high hopes for our night together. It would have been just her and me, alone. And although I wasn't necessarily ready to tell her what my muddled brain had confused as lust and friendship and feelings, I had wanted to get to know her better. Sadly, I slouched into the seat to look at the incredible work Bella had done by herself in my absence.

It was incredible, as I'd predicted. Her comic timing in the editing was close to genius. As I was mid-laugh at one of our final jokes, the door swung back open, revealing a frazzled and upset-looking Bella.

She was winded, as if she'd run back to the shack at full speed, and I could see a red flush creep up onto her cheeks from her exertion. She put up one finger, signaling for me to give her a second, but I couldn't wait. What the hell had happened?

"Bella, is everything okay?" I took a step towards her, and she took a giant step backwards, pressing up against the shack door, far away from me. Her retraction stung like a razor through my stomach. "What happened?" I asked quietly, approaching slowly, not wanting to upset her even more.

"I…I…I…" She gasped for breaths, and I could see her getting progressively more worked up. "I was…I was…" Finally, I reached her and grabbed for her arm, pulling her towards the chair to sit down. Whatever had just happened had really upset her, and I wasn't sure what to do or how to comfort her without getting too physical. But as I heard her shuddering breath and saw the red rim of her eyes, I threw decency out the window. I was going to comfort her, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

My arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against my chest. Her forehead rested precariously on my shoulder as her tears leaked from her eyes and splattered onto the white cotton of my t-shirt. Heat spread throughout my groin as her small hands wrapped around my neck, bringing her to nearly sit on my lap. I willed my erection down, needing to focus on comforting Bella.

Instead of forcing her to talk, though, I waited and shushed her, merely enjoying the feel of her in my arms. We sat in silence until the computer monitor dimmed, letting the dark screensaver take over, shrouding us in shadows once again. Bella finally calmed enough to get out her words, tucking her head into my chest. "I saw Emmett and Rosalie," she mumbled.

Fuck.

"I was on my way to the counselor lounge, and I saw them…against the side of the dance studio." Her words were barely whispered, heavy with her breath. "Why—"

I couldn't stand to hear her sounding so upset. Something in my gut compelled me to protect her, to take her in and comfort her. Without provocation, my head tilted down, and my lips sought out her forehead. My arms continued to hold her in place, trailing small lines up and down her back. She let out a shaky breath, releasing her tense muscles into a state of relaxation.

She pulled back, and I couldn't help but to stare into her eyes. I let one of my hands move to her wet cheek, and I gently pushed the tear away. Blood pooled beneath my fingertips, and I smiled knowing that I had this kind of effect on her. My lips unconsciously moved towards hers, needing to feel their softness beneath mine. But I should have known that nothing about tonight was going to go as I'd planned.

~Seth~

My night had gone to shit pretty quickly. I'd planned to go out with Jake and Claire and some of the girls who worked at swim, but Jake had made it pretty clear that if I accompanied him, he wouldn't be responsible for "entertaining me," as he'd put it. Fucker. Not that I could blame him, though. If Bella ever agreed to go out with me anywhere, I wouldn't be paying any attention to Jake either.

Only minutely annoyed, I decided to head towards the lake. I remembered that I'd left my iPod down by the swim docks this morning, and I wasn't in the mood to wake up early and retrieve it. Plus, as I'd found out in Maine, the weather was nothing if not unpredictable and I didn't want it to get ruined should it happen to rain.

As I walked past the basketball courts, I saw Rosalie and Emmett with Edward. They sounded as if they were arguing about something, and I did my best not to eavesdrop. However, when I heard Edward's amused voice, loud and clear, "…fucking an eighteen year old with a boyfriend under everyone's nose and getting away with it…" I paused. From what I had overheard, it was clear that Rosalie and Emmett were together. Although what Edward had to say about that, I wasn't completely sure. Suddenly, images of lurid threesomes entered my brain. Was Edward into Rosalie, too? Shaking off those thoughts, I decided to pick up my pace so as not to overhear an incredibly personal conversation. That just wasn't polite.

I got to the lake and was immediately put at ease by the dark stillness. I could vaguely hear Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie's voices, but they were pretty muffled, so I didn't feel too bad. This particular evening, the air was warmer than usual, and I decided to spend a few minutes with my feet dangling into the placid water and figure out what the hell I should do with the rest of my night.

Since hanging out with Jake wasn't a viable option, and Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett were clearly up to something I shouldn't be privy to, I decided to head towards the shack. I'd stored some beer in the mini-fridge there, and I could sit and watch a movie uninterrupted, at least.

A beer and a movie…alone. What thrilling evening plans, Seth.

My inner voice was mocking me, but I couldn't help but agree with him. My evening plans had been pretty lame for the past few weeks. I'd asked out Bella, but so far we hadn't been able to coordinate our schedules. I had been serious, though, in what I'd said to Jake. Slow and steady does win the race, and I wanted to court Bella slowly. She was an absolute spitfire – tons of personality and attitude – but she was incredibly sweet, too. She was a mystery that I longed to figure out…if she'd only let me.

I sighed, and it cut through the silence, echoing off the lake. I guessed Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward had either made up or gone to make out somewhere else because the basketball court was now completely empty. Quickly, I wandered back to my bunk to throw my iPod onto my bed before grabbing my Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban DVD (if I was going to be watching it alone, I figured I should watch one I didn't want other people to know I loved, right?).

Halfway to the shack, though, I caught sight of Bella. She looked incredibly upset, as if she were about to cry. Her feet skidded down the hill as she walked quickly in the direction of the shack. My heart clenched, hoping that she was looking for me, but I knew that was fairly unlikely. After all, as far as she knew, I had plans to go out with Jake tonight. Maybe she was going to the shack to be alone, though. She did know the code.

Seizing the opportunity to have alone time with her and possibly comfort her, I picked up my own pace. I opened the door to the shack merely a minute after her, and my heart dropped at what I saw. The arm that still gripped my thoroughly embarrassing DVD hung low by my side as I inhaled sharply and snapped on the overhead lighting. The loose threads and inexplicable excuses finally came together to show me the piece I'd been missing.

In two chairs, facing one another closely, were Bella and Edward. One of his arms was around her shoulders and the other one gripped precariously low on her waist. Bella looked at Edward with her red-rimmed eyes, tears spilling onto her cheeks gently. Edward's thumb stroked the side of Bella's waist, but he was looking at her so intently, I doubted if he even realized he was doing so. Their lips were millimeters away from meeting, making my heart sink into my stomach, when the shack door slammed behind me.

Bella pulled back, frightened, her eyes wild and blinking under the harsh glare of the lights. She looked relieved when she saw me and relaxed back into Edward's arm, which was still resting atop her shoulders. "S-Seth? Wh-what are you d-doing here?" she whimpered. I had no idea what had made her so upset, but I longed to take her pain away. I immediately crossed the room to kneel beside her and placed a hopefully comforting hand on her knee.

"Bella, are you okay?"

I didn't look away from Bella's glazed eyes, but I could hear Edward swear under his breath before shifting to move closer to her.

Are we going to play this game now? Really, Cullen? The girl is upset. Save it for later.

Plus, I could easily tell that there was no competition. Edward would win hands down. Sadly, I was okay with that. I just needed to make sure that Bella was fine first, then I'd leave them to their…

I couldn't think it yet, so I turned back to Bella with concerned eyes. "Bella?"

"Ro-Rosalie and E-Emmett…why w-wouldn't they t-tell me?"

I nodded in understanding.

"So, Edward told you?" I asked, doing my best to soothe her. Unfortunately, my words had the adverse reaction, and she stiffened like a board before shooting out of her seat, nearly knocking me onto my ass. "Bella, wh—"

"Bella." This time, it was Edward who shot up, reaching a hand out to her. She recoiled quickly, and I was thoroughly confused as Bella's face contorted into one of pain before she let out a heaving sob.

"You knew?"

"Bella, no-" Edward's brow furrowed as she continued to step away from him and towards me.

"You knew and you didn't say anything?" Her voice sounded shy and afraid. I'd never heard Bella sound so small before, and it unnerved me completely. Edward had no idea of the power he held over her.

"Bella, it wasn't like that," he argued. Edward had been known to have a slight temper, and I could see and hear his frustration rising every second.

I stood still, observing the lovers' quarrel. I nearly laughed, seeing as how neither had any inclination that they were lovers, but my laughter died as I felt Bella reach for my hand, intertwining her small fingers with mine. Her presence warmed my body completely.

Edward's eyes darkened as they flicked to our newly intertwined hands. "Please let me explain, Bella," he nearly growled. "It wasn't my secret to t-"

"Please leave, Edward." Bella's tone was now stoic, but I could feel her increase the pressure on my hand, a way to dispel some of her excess frustration, probably. "You can stand me up and blow me off, but please don't lie to me on top of that." She enunciated her words with fervor, each sharp consonant cutting into Edward's gut, marked by his flinching.

His eyes looked downcast and downtrodden before exhaustion wiped across his face. "I don't even know why I bother," he mumbled. "Night."

As the door rattled in his disparaged wake, Bella sank to the floor, propping herself against the wall as she finally let out her tears. I felt the need to protect her, entertain her, and make it all better. Somehow, though, I knew that I wasn't the person she wanted for that job.

"So, you and Cullen, huh?"

Her head turned so fast towards me that she looked like the little girl from the Exorcist, and I couldn't help but smile at the bewildered expression on her face. I slid down beside her and let my arm wrap around her shaking shoulders, which jumped with each one of her rattled breaths.

"N-no," she scoffed, regaining her semblance of calm.

"I thought we already established that it's not nice to lie, Bella." I laughed as she scowled at me, frustration taking over her features. "Okay, we don't have to joke about it yet."

I sat there, rubbing small circles onto the back of her shoulder as she evened out her breathing. She seemed conflicted, and I didn't want her to feel like she had to bare her soul to me, only that I was available as a friend. I'd always want more, I knew that on some level, but if she needed someone to vent to, I'd be more than happy to be that person, too.

Bella groaned before finally relaxing into my touch, leaning her head onto my shoulder. I noticed that in this position, there was no way I could look into her eyes. "You must think I'm such an idiot."

"I promise I don't. Now, are you going to tell me what led to the blowout I just witnessed, or can we drink my beer stash and watch a movie?" Bella eyes widened as I pulled out my Harry Potter DVD. I handed it to her and pushed myself up, reaching low into the mini-fridge for two Coors.

Bella's tears were gone, replaced by a confused and almost disgusted face. "I don't drink Coors."

I laughed and placed the beers down on the counter. "That's fine. They were both for me anyway." I winked and helped her off the ground, enjoying the chance to have her in my arms. I tightened my grip on her, giving her my best soothing hug, and my heart rejoiced when I saw a beautiful smile light up her face. "There's some of Edward's girly beer in there if you want it."

She flinched at his name, and I silently cursed myself for being so stupid. Whatever had happened had just happened, and her wounds were too raw for me to throw his name around so haphazardly. I needed to be more courteous of her feelings.

Drawing in another shaky breath, Bella leaned over, exposing her beautiful behind to me. Flustered, I looked down at the ground until she stood up straight again and cracked open her Sparks. I shuddered. I didn't know how Edward drank that crap. It was orange beer—an alcoholic energy drink. But it would probably do Bella some good right about now.

She chugged it in three long sips before grabbing another one and slouching into the chair in front of the biggest monitor. I slid the DVD into the computer, and I smiled as she relaxed to watch the film. I was even happier that she wasn't commenting on it, seeing as how we were both film kids, and she could have mocked me mercilessly.

We watched the first thirty minutes of the film in peace. Every so often, I'd catch Bella looking like she was deep in thought and sniffling slightly, but other than that, she seemed to have calmed down greatly.

"The fourth one's my favorite," she admitted quietly in a particularly tense spot.

"It would be," I replied cheekily. I noticed that Bella responded well to snark, so I had to up my game to be considered one of her friends.

Her body shifted in her seat to face me. "Why did you say it like that?"

"You seem like you'd be a Cedric fan. It's the light, messy hair, right?"

Her entire face dropped, and for a second I thought that Bella might smack me across the face. Luckily, she simply sighed and leaned in closer to me.

"Am I that obvious? Does he know?"

Her comment sent my thoughts reeling. She was admitting this to me, and I needed to be supportive. "You're not that obvious, Bella. Honest. I think he has no clue, which may be part of the problem…how long have you liked him?"

Bella leaned even closer, and I struggled to keep my focus and not stare at her plump lips as she continued to talk. "Since I was thirteen."

"Wow. That's a really long time. And he has no clue?" She shook her head, letting the ends of her hair whip back and forth into the air.

"You have his attention, Bella. Why not just tell him you like him?"

"No!" she yelled, her eyes scared. "Please don't tell him, Seth! Please!" She was working herself up again, and I still didn't know what had upset her in the first place.

"Why not?" She didn't say anything, simply rolled her eyes in defiance. "Bella, I'm not going to say anything. I promise. I just want to help you out, that's all."

Her eyes softened, and she lowered her voice to only a shaky whisper as she questioned me. "Why?"

"I like you…a lot, Bella." She looked shocked, although I couldn't imagine that she didn't know I was interested. I mean, I had asked her to go out twice already. She had to know. She looked as if she were going to respond, so I stopped her. "I like you, yes, but I'm your friend, too. And I think friends should be there for one another. You were upset tonight, and this is me trying to be a supportive friend…Cedric Diggory and beer helps a little, but I have a feeling that venting will help the most."

The most stunning expression took over Bella's face before she burst into tears again. I had no idea what to do. I sat awkwardly patting her back until she calmed down again. Her cheeks were splotchy and she looked a huge mess, but I still thought she was beautiful.

"Th-thank you, S-seth."

"You're welcome?" I said, feeling perplexed. I hadn't said anything that monumental, but apparently Bella felt differently. "So, did you want to vent?"

"I don't think I need to anymore, actually. You're a great friend, Seth. Really. Thank you."

"Just throwing this out there, but if you wanted any help eventually telling him, I'll be there for moral support if you want. Or if you want to tease him 'til he's begging for you, I'm good with that, too." She looked surprised when I winked, and she turned back to the television to watch the rest of the movie in silence, looking pensive and quietly sipping her energy beer. I would have given anything to know the thoughts running through her brain. Had I just offered myself up as Bella's plaything to torture Edward with? I believed I had.

When the movie was over, she yawned and said something about needing to get to bed. It was then that I realized I could spend more time with Bella tomorrow. "Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Um, work?"

"We have the day off tomorrow. All the art shops do."

She looked genuinely surprised, as if it had completely slipped her mind. Our first day off and she had no plans. How lucky was I tonight? "Oh, nothing, I guess."

"Want to go to Portland with me?" I asked. "Jake said I could take his truck."

Bella's returning smile set my body on fire. "That sounds perfect, Seth." She paused in the doorway before turning back. "You said all of the art shops have tomorrow off?" Her eyes were sparkling, and I could see where this one was going. Oh well, it was a good reminder that she didn't want to be with me, anyway. "Do you think I should invite Edward to go with us?"

I forced a weak smile and hugged her again. "Absolutely. Baby steps, right?"

She nodded excitedly and headed off, leaving me to wonder how I'd gotten myself into this situation and if I was actually okay with being relegated to Bella's "friend zone." Seeing the happy smile on her face, I decided that I was. I would be content to be her friend.

~Edward~

I had royally fucked up. And I hated Seth. At least, I was fairly sure I hated him…

Bella had been so mad, and I couldn't stop seeing her furious expression in my mind. I wish I could have at least explained that I hadn't lied to her, but she hadn't even let me get that far.

Frustrated, I continued to lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. My iPod was firmly placed in my ears as I listened to my emo indie music, as Bella had called it earlier. My proverbial tears were coming out of my speakers through the likes of Jeff Buckley, Death Cab for Cutie, and Joseph Arthur. Yeah, I was an emo indie whore, and I was okay with it. If I couldn't cry, I could at least listen to some skinny white whiny boys, singing their depression away.

In the midst of "The Honey and the Moon," I heard a soft knock on the door. I assumed it was Emmett coming to apologize again, so I mumbled a soft, "Come in," before closing my eyes and returning to my sad, sad music.

"Edward?" Her small voice could still be heard over my speakers, causing my eyes to shoot straight open. I rolled over and scrambled to sit up, wondering what the hell she was doing in my room at God knows what time of night (not that I was going to fight it).

"Bella?" She looked at me fiercely, clearly still pissed, and I scrambled to apologize. "Bella, I'm so sorry about before. I wasn't lying to you, I promise. I ran into Em and Rose and yelled-"

"Edward, it's fine."

"No, it's not. You should be yelling at me." I was adamant, and she looked taken aback.

"It's really fine, I promise. I overreacted because I was angry with Emmett, not you. I should be the one to apologize." She smiled warmly, like she wanted me, and I could feel my dick start to harden in my pants. It was clearly thrilled by that prospect. "I actually wanted to know what your plans for our day off were tomorrow? 'Cause I thought maybe you could come out with me."

She wanted me to go out with her, and I had to turn her down…and again, I couldn't tell her why. I didn't think she'd respond well to, "Sorry, Bella, I can't go out with you because I need advice from the wisest female I know on how to seduce you without scaring you away." Yeah…not so much.

"I can't, actually." Her face fell, and I felt like a douche bag all over again. What was with today, today? "I already have lunch plans," I groaned sadly, but then the often elusive genius inside me roared to life. "But I don't have anything planned for the evening, if you wanted to go out?"

I wrung my hands, nervously anticipating her answer. She'd turned me into a little school boy instead of the fairly confident and overly cocky ass I usually was. And I was starting to think that I was okay with it.

"Out?" she squeaked. "Like…just with you?"

Her face flushed, and I couldn't believe that I'd been so forward again. I'd completely scared her off.

"Hey, what's—" Emmett bound into the room but stopped when he saw Bella's menacing face. "LB, what are you-"

She whipped around towards him, her eyes narrowing into mean slits. Gone was the bashful and flirtatious Bella of yore, replaced by angry, ready-to-break-some-face Bella. "I can't be here with you right now. You need to wait your turn to speak to Edward." Her chest rose and fell with her heavy breath, keeping her volume in check as she spoke in a condescending tone to the giant beside her.

"What did I do?" Emmett could be such a fucking idiot sometimes. I tried to warn him, but his eyes were focused solely on Bella—not that I could blame him.

"What did you do?" she seethed. "What did you do? I'll give you one hint…starts with an 'R,' ends with a 'my best friend has been fucking my other best friend behind my back for weeks and is a complete asswipe!'"

Emmett's jaw unhinged, opening and closing as he struggled for the comeback that I knew he didn't have. "Bella, I'm—"

She frowned and turned back to me, and I was grateful that she hadn't decided to turn against me for longer tonight. God knew I deserved it. "Clearly this one doesn't have anything to say for himself," she scoffed. "But Edward?" My ears perked up, giving their full attention to the tiny girl in front of us. "I'd love to go out tomorrow night…if the offer still stands."

I nodded dumbly, unable to form words at the current moment, so taken aback by the way she'd controlled the situation. Bella was incredible, indeed. I watched her sneer at Emmett as she sauntered past us, slamming the door behind her. I wanted to slam into her from behind, but…that was something completely different.

"Dude, you have a date with Bella tomorrow night? What are you going to do?" Emmett asked, drawing me out of my less-than-appropriate fantasies.

"I-" Fuck. I had inadvertently asked Bella out on a date with nothing planned. And I had no idea what to do.

Emmett just burst out laughing at my lost expression. "Oh, man, you should see your face right now."

Shit. Thank God I'd be receiving some female guidance tomorrow. If there was one person who'd be able to help me in this time of romantic tumult, it'd be her.

Chapter End Notes: Got any predictions of who that mystery female is? If you've been following me on twitter lexiecullen17, you probably know already…I can't shut up about her!

Now, since I'm in the giving mood, I'm doing something super awesome. What do you want most for xmas? Leave me a review and tell me what you want to see (an outtake of something that's already happened, plz). I'll write my fav outtake suggestion and send it as a review reply… Credit goes to hammondgirl for that baller idea. Are you feeling the love yet?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays (*sung NSYNC style*)!