AN: OMG, I'm sorry this is late. But…I got promoted and sucked back onto set. I'm not complaining, honestly, but I am apologizing for getting this chapter out late. I love you guys so much. Seriously, Campwards Call Girls could start their own fucking brothel with how many of you there are. Your reviews are like crack, and I'm sorry that I don't have all the time in the world to respond to them all. I try. That's all I can do.

I know a few of you (okay, perhaps all of you) are frustrated with these characters, but this story is based on true events, so I'm sticking with my slow burning pace. The epilogue is speeding toward us faster than a bullet, if that tells you anything. So…try not to complain too much about them both being pussies, k? Edward has the mental maturity of an 18 year old and Bella is one. They're going to be stupid.

In other news, I'd like to thank my beta lisa89, despite the fact that she's LEAVING ME…to study for the MCATs and go to med school (so, yeah yeah, it's totally legitimate, whatever). I cry. Also, if you aren't reading her story A Mzungu Oasis, you should be. Jusst saying.

Lastly, I entered another contest (because I just can't fucking stop, I'm sorry!). It's the FML Contest, and I'm super excited about my one shot. If you could go check it out, I'd be much obliged :)

http://www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/community/FML_Contest_Fics/77195/99/0/1/

~Edward~

"Please forgive me as I try to explain…a place that once found me and left me this way. Black and white visions melt to warm colors. Skies sprinkled with stardust impressed in my mind. This gently painted picture, the setting of my childhood. Cradled by breezes of happiness. In the comfort of friends whose hearts feel it, too. Eternal bonds form, souls freeze as once. Please forgive me, for I've tried to explain…"

My eyes fluttered open with the impact of the vibrations from the road on my cheek. Laughter and singing cluttered my senses, but all I could feel was her.

"…no, no, no, Em, that's not what happened at all…" Her impatient sigh cut through the din of the campers, rousing me from my restless slumber.

"Tell me, then!" Emmett growled.

"Tell him what?" I lifted my head from the cool glass of the bus window and pushed my glasses up my nose, bringing the rest of the large vehicle into focus.

Bella's face heated, visibly turning pink in the mere seconds I'd laid eyes on her. God, she was too fucking gorgeous for words. "N-nothing," she stammered, glaring daggers at Emmett, who was sitting in the front seat of the bus, helping the driver navigate.

I sighed and flipped open my cell phone, glancing at the time. Only 8:52AM. Only approzimately three hours and eight minutes until we reached Quebec, then. I felt bad that I had dozed off on chaperone duty, but honestly, those girls were contained to a nice coach bus for six hours. I didn't foresee them getting into too much trouble. Plus, we'd left at 6AM, and I'd barely slept eight hours since the night I'd had Bella in my bed.

Fuck. How had I fucked this up so badly? As I'd awoken in my bed, intertwined with Bella, things had looked different than they had the night before. First of all, my sober self wasn't nearly as courageous as my drunk self. So, when I'd tried to downplay how much I ached, having her rub her soft curves against the, uh, harder parts of my body and she'd agreed with me that we "weren't like that," any quasi-confidence that I'd gained the night before had completely shattered. I'd never had a girl jump so quickly out of bed with me before—not since that fateful night at RISD when I'd lost my virginity. Fuck, that girl hadn't even stayed long enough for me to get her off. Pathetic, I was. Truly pathetic.

Okay, Cullen, enough of the fucking Yoda inner monologue. It's really not helping your loser case.

Somewhere over the course of that evening, I'd convinced myself that Bella saw me like I saw her, too…as special. I'd imagined it in her playful touches and flirtatious smiles, but clearly that was all it had been—my imagination.

So, I'd done what I did best. I'd shrugged it off, smiled and made nice, pretending that I could go back to that first week of camp when Bella was still LB, with her pigtail braids and braces. That had lasted all of five fucking minutes, until she was naked in my shower, merely feet from where I was standing. And then she was in my room, covered by a towel with the scent of my soap and shampoo emanating from her every pore. And I'd fucking loved that. Marking her as mine. And that was when I'd realized how totally and utterly fucked I was.

"Get enough rest there, sleeping beauty?" Jake asked, pinching my cheeks from the seat behind me.

I grunted and slapped Jake's hands away from my face. He was the one who'd created this angsty mess of non-sleep I'd gotten myself into for the past three days anyway. Well, he'd instigated it, so I was going to throw some blame at him, 'cause I could. It was actually Jasper's fault, but he wasn't around for the next two days. Ass.

FLASHBACK

All throughout lunch, Jake kept throwing me sideways glances and winks. Had I not known it would hurt me more than him, I would have punched his fucking lights out for his smirking. It was bad enough that he'd now slept with my sister—twice—but to throw it in my face for an hour? Well, let's just say that I was close to my breaking point.

"Hey, what's up your butt today?" Alice giggled, scooting herself next to me on the tiny bench as the campers filed out of the dining hall.

I looked around for the culprit of my less-than-fabulous mood, only to see him wrapping his large arm around Bella's petite shoulders.

"Jake."

Alice's giggling increased as she followed my line of vision. "Yeah, you would be the bottom of that relationship, wouldn't you?"

I was too pissed off and antsy and upset to even come back at her joke. Instead, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall, trying not to hit something.

"Whoa, no comeback?" She poked my side. "What happened last night?"

I was debating whether to spill my soul to Alice—or if that'd be a poor choice—when a slow drawl intervened. "You want to know what happened last night? Do you, sweetheart?"

My eyes went straight for Jasper, and I was surprised at the bags around his eyes. "Jesus, Jasper. You look like you've been through the wringer. Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

At my words, Jasper's eyes narrowed for a split second before he groaned and leaned his forehead against the table. "No, you asshole. And I'm a little angry that you did, seeing as it's your fault that I got approximately four hours of sleep last night."

"My fault? What did I do? I was passed out within minutes of getting into our room."

Alice's eyes widened, flipping back and forth between my curious eyes and Jasper's head, which still lay on the table, hiding his eyes from view.

"That's the problem," he groaned. Finally, he lifted his head up, revealing his tired eyes once again. "Did you know that Bella is a sleep talker?"

I racked my brain, wondering if I had heard Bella talk in her sleep last night, but I could only remember waking up and feeling the most rested I'd felt in a while…maybe ever. "No?" I asked as a question, wondering how loud Bella must have been talking if she had kept Jasper up.

"Yeah, and it wasn't only talking…there was also sleep mo—"Alice jabbed her little elbow into Jasper's ribs, cutting him off mid-sentence. The tiny girl looked downright dangerous, causing Jasper to blush and apologize immediately and leaving me wondering what the fuck the end of that sentence was.

Sleep moving? Sleep moping? Sleep mobbing? Sleep mocking?

Fuck.

Sleep moaning? It sounded like a long 'o.' If Bella had been moaning in her sleep and I'd missed it, I was really going to punch someone out.

Instead, I apologized quickly to Jasper, saying that Bella probably wouldn't be sleeping over anytime soon anyway, and I ran to the shack to hide, essentially. Unfortunately, "hiding" did me little good because as I opened the door, I came across Jake sitting in my chair, waiting for me.

I rolled my eyes at his goofy grin and turned around to leave.

"Whoa, hold up, jackass. I need to properly torture you, so come sit your ass back down, please."

My head whipped around, and I glared at him appropriately. "We are not discussing what happened with you and my sister…ever."

To my surprise, Jake rolled his eyes and pulled up a chair, instead of retorting with his usual amount of snark.

"Yeah, no shit, dude. It's why you didn't know about it in the first place. Obviously. Why the fuck would we talk about that? No way. We're going to talk about LB."

"What about Bella?"

"I have a bet riding on this, so I'm going to need the entire truth, Eddie. Are you going to tell me that you didn't try a single thing with her last night?"

"I—" My throat dried, constricting slightly as I shook my head slowly. Jake's expression morphed into one of disappointment. "I'm guessing that wasn't the answer you wanted?"

"Eh, it was only ten bucks. I'll live." A smirk appeared on his face, and my stomach tightened with nerves. "The question is, how will you live, knowing that she was asking for it and you didn't give it to her?"

"Wait, what? Bella wasn't asking for it. Don't talk about her like that, you piece of shit."

"Are you for real right now?" I had no idea what the fuck he was getting at, so I continued to stare him down, hoping he would refrain from making any more lewd comments about Bella. "Oh man! You are!" Jake laughed, slapping his knee. "So, she was loud enough in her sleep moaning to wake up the rest of the bunk, but you slept through it? I'm sorry, man, but that…that's just too good."

Fuck me. Sleep moaning? So that was what Jasper had been privy to all night, and she'd been loud enough to wake up the entire bunk. How the fuck had I slept through that?

"Didn't you wonder why we were all in your room this morning? I swear, Tanya had to restrain me from breaking down the door when I started hearing the, 'Oh, yes, Edward, please, Edward…faster, Edward!'"

"That's not funny, Jake." I shook my head, ridding myself of the lusty thoughts Jake had just placed there.

"Dude, I wish I were kidding, but you can ask Emmett. If Rosalie hadn't been there to tell us about LB's sleep talking, your pretty face would be broken right now."

With that, he patted my knee and took off, leaving me alone to regret being a heavy sleeper.

"Fuck off," I groaned, causing Jake to snicker again.

"Wow, what's got your panties in a twist?" Emmett inquired from his seat, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Nothing," I sighed. "I just haven't been sleeping very well."

Emmett just rolled his eyes. "So, go back to sleep. We have like three more hours before we get to Quebec, and we need you to be at maximum potential by then, mkay?"

I shrugged and put my earbuds back into my ears, choosing the wallowing playlist I had made specifically for this trip.

"This fact not fiction for the first time in years

And all the girls in every girlie magazine can't make me feel any less alone…"

Death Cab's lyrics couldn't have been more fitting if they'd tried. And with little persuasion, I delved back into the topic that had been torturing my mind all weekend. Knowing that Bella had been dreaming about being with me as we'd laid intertwined in my bed had given me a small amount of hope that Bella might have felt similarly about me. I'd allowed my mind to wander temporarily, imagining the late night rendezvous in the shack or in the theater balcony—oh, yes, my cock had really liked those ideas.

But Seth had quickly squashed those thoughts. We'd spent the afternoon getting video clips of various activities, and as we'd filmed, he'd continued to talk about Bella.

Bella's so sweet, Bella's so smart, Bella's so unique, Bella's so talented, blah, blah, blah. I'd wanted to grab his shoulders and tell him, "I KNOW." But I couldn't. Because, in all honesty, Seth was probably a far better match for Bella than I was. He was (I wasn't afraid to admit it) a good-looking kid. But more than that, I'd never met a more optimistic person, unlike me, who had been a perpetual Debbie Downer since Friday.

I just didn't know what to do now. On Thursday, I'd been so convinced that I was ready to make my move and tell Bella how I felt, but seeing Bella and Seth together on Friday had shaken me. She just seemed so much lighter and happier around him. Relaxed—that was the word. And I wanted that for her, always. I guessed I would give it a little time, and then I would be content to let her go. If you love someone, set them free and all that crap.

Letting the soothing tones of Death Cab push those less-than-appealing thoughts away, I returned to my fitful nap.

* * *

"Cannonball!" Jake screamed as he plopped down onto the king-sized bed in our fucktastically awesome hotel room. I'd say this about Long Lake Camp—they definitely let us travel in style. The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac had been home base for the eldest age group's overnight trip for the past nearly thirty years, and I'd been lucky enough to enjoy the accommodations for the past five.

"Ugh. Fan-fucking-tastic," Emmett groaned. "They forgot my cot."

Jake rolled onto his stomach and smiled up at Emmett, patting the comforter space next to him. "Come on, baby, there's room enough for all of us in here."

Emmett tossed a pillow from the small loveseat at Jake's head and scowled, looking like a petulant child. "I'm not getting into bed with you homos. I know you two are comfortable sleeping in the same bed, but I need my own fucking cot."

"And who said I'll be sleeping here tonight?" Jake laughed and turned onto his back, propping himself up on his elbows. "The girls are only two rooms down, and I'm sure they both want a piece of this." He thrust his hips into the air, and my overtired mind snapped.

"Okay, enough, Jake!"

Like someone had scratched a record, the noises in the room came to a screeching halt, leaving me listening to my own heavy breathing. Emmett quirked his head to the side, and Jake's jaw unhinged slightly.

"Shit, Edward…it was a joke."

Grumbling, I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned down to rest my head in my hands. "I know. I'm sorry I'm being such an epically emo douche today."

"Today?" Jake snickered.

"More like all weekend. And don't think we haven't noticed you avoiding LB, either, 'cause we fo sho have."

A smile threatened to overtake my face. "Did you just use 'fo sho' in that sentence and not laugh?"

Emmett's right fist came out of nowhere and pounded my shoulder…hard. "Get your shit together or just leave it alone. Permanently. If you make her cry. I will make you cry."

And I knew Emmett was serious.

"Samesies," Jake called out as he squirmed on the bed, rolling around like a dog scratching its back. "And I punch way harder than Em. You'd be hurting for weeks."

"No way! Have you seen these guns?"

Rolling my eyes, I decide to unpack my small overnight bag into the drawers as my two best friends continued to squabble over who could best beat my ass.

After a short while, a soft knock at the door alerted us of the time. Emmett opened the door to reveal Bella and Danielle, who had both showered and cleaned up for our afternoon and evening activities.

Looking down, I noted that I was still wearing my jeans, t-shirt, hoodie and my glasses. Spectacular.

"Ladies…" Jake winked as he held out his arms for them to hold on to, and I very nearly growled.

Naturally, that had to be the moment that Bella looked over her shoulder and found me glaring. I tried to soften my expression, but she flushed and turned around before I could. Awesome.

We split up, quickly taking attendance of our thirty campers, and made our way to the front of the hotel, where our tour of historical Quebec would begin.

Our tour guide was an old woman named Bree, who had fiery red hair, a thick Quebecois accent, and a spitfire personality. She knew the history of every inch of Old Quebec City—including several stretches of sidewalk where battles had occurred and famous people had traveled.

I kept my eye on Bella, who was walking just behind Jake and Danielle. The two of them seemed to be deep in conversation; Jake was probably figuring out his chances…typical. Opposed to the chatty and overzealous pair, Bella looked withdrawn and almost as tired as I felt. How had I not noticed this before?

"Now, if you'd all be so kind as to look at this church…" I tuned back in as Bree launched into another ridiculously detailed explanation. I'd heard her spiel so many times that I didn't even feel that bad zoning out for a while and just admiring the view...aka Bella.

The sooner you admit this to yourself, the sooner the torture will be over!

Ignoring my inner monologue, I wandered around the cathedral, paying attention to the beautiful architecture. Notre-Dame-des-Victoires was a small historic church in the heart of Old Quebec City, and despite the fact that I was by no means a religious person, I'd always felt extremely at ease there.

I was pulled out of my musings by Bree's chuckling voice, encouraging us to move onwards to look at the part of the city that had been destroyed by fire. As we walked, I took out my camera and filmed a bit. One of the main reasons I got to go on this trip was so I could record it for the video yearbook. As soon as I did this, though, the campers started acting up for the camera.

"Hi, Edward," a group of three girls chimed simultaneously.

"Hey, guys." I smiled back. "Are you having fun so far?"

The one furthest to the right started blushing and giggling. "Of course we are, Edward." She prolonged my name as if it were extremely important, batting her eyes over-exaggeratedly. Jesus fucking Christ. This is not what I need right now.

"Really? What are you doing?" I asked, hoping that they'd talk about the tour being given and not me.

"We're going on a fantastic tour!" the one in the middle spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," she continued dramatically. "That—" she pointed ahead of her, signaling my camera movement "—is Bree. She's super smart."

"Have you learned anything valuable from her today?"

The girls all made equally panicked faces, making me chuckle slightly. "Don't worry…there won't be a test. I was just asking."

Their faces changed immediately into contented smiles as they laughed and talked about everything they'd learned so far. Apparently they'd learned that Vanessa, the camper on the right, snored loudly, listened to crappy music and couldn't understand a word coming out of Bree's mouth. They were actually incredibly entertaining, and their ridiculous anecdotes from the past eight hours or so kept my mind from wandering back to Bella, which was definitely a necessity at this point in time. My mind needed a Bella break, if you will.

As soon as the camera was put away, though, the girls didn't fade back into the group as I'd thought they would. No, they continued to stay with me and chat about their days. And I couldn't help but notice how close they were getting or the forwardness of their conversation. Needless to say, it was getting a bit claustrophobic, and I wasn't really sure how to extricate myself from the situation without embarrassing them or myself.

At pre-camp, they'd told us how to deal with campers having crushes on male staff—it wasn't a foreign concept, obviously. But I'd never dealt with campers who had literally come onto me…several of them at the same time, at least. I had no idea what the fuck I was going to do.

Giggling again, Vanessa reached out her hand and brushed against my cheek. "Are you trying to grow a beard, Edward?"

"Uh…no…I just…" My eyes darted around, searching for Emmett or Jake, but both were engrossed in Bree's lesson.

"It looks good. Definitely." She smiled widely, never removing her hand from my jaw. Finally, I took her hand and moved it away, but she just took that as an opportunity to grab onto my arm and attach herself to my side. "Amanda and Becky like it, too, don't you guys?"

All three giggled, and I tried my very hardest not to groan and scream out in frustration.

"Ooo, and I love your glasses, Edward," Amanda added. "They make you look like those models from the Calvin Klein ads."

"The underwear ones?" Becky inquired devilishly. "You would think Edward would look like an underwear model."

"Ugh, not the underwear ones, Becky! The glasses ones." Amanda scowled at her best friend, finally giving me a slight reprieve from her unwavering attention. "But that's besides the point. What I was trying to say was that they make you look hot, Edward."

At that point, all three girls turned their attention back to me, their giggling and blushing increasing to the point of absurdity as they rambled about which models and actors I looked most similar to. It was utterly ridiculous.

"…yeah, like Simon Baker, too…"

"…what about, like, Harry Potter? He's super hot now, too…"

"Really?" An angel's voice cut in, causing a massive grin to spread across my face. "I thought glasses were supposed to be super dorky on guys—like Clark Kent or Peter Parker. Don't you know? Guys who wear glasses are always too afraid and insecure to get the girl. You girls are better off looking for a glasses-less guy…" Bella paused and looked me over, a glint in her dark eyes. "Maybe one closer to your own age."

Her eyes flicked down to where Vanessa's hand was still wrapped around my forearm before raising them back up to meet the camper's embarrassed ones. Stuttering nonsensically, all three campers scurried off, finally rejoining their group and leaving me to breathe freely.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem."

"Those girls are vultures," I whispered, leaning down towards her ear. She laughed loudly, smiling at me for the first time all day.

"Yes. Yes, they are," she agreed, nodding mostly to herself. "I thought I was going to drown on my way walking over here." I looked at her inquisitively, so she continued. "You know…from all the drool?"

I let out a barking laugh, which was so loud that Bree faltered in her speech, causing the entire group to look back at us with expressions of horror plastered across their faces. As I looked around, I realized that we were paused at a large cemetery and that Bree must have been explaining the deaths of important historical figures.

"Sorry," I said regretfully, training my eyes back on the ground and away from the disbelieving faces of my fellow staff and the campers. I stood there in silence, kicking a pebble, until I finally heard Bella's soft snickering coming from beside me.

My eyes flashed to her as she flushed with the exertion of keeping her laughter down. "And I thought I was awkward."

Her statement took me by surprise, leaving me utterly dumbfounded as she skipped over to Emmett, beaming and sliding her small hand into his with ease. He lifted it between them, kissing her knuckles lightly before squeezing and dropping it between them again. My stomach clenched with envy. I wished that Bella were comfortable enough to touch me casually like that.

And my jealousy skyrocketed as I began listening in to the camper's comments.

"…so cute, right?" a small redheaded one was saying quietly, nodding towards Emmett and Bella's clasped hands.

"I heard they've been going out for a while, and that's why Bella flipped out when she found out about Emmett and Rosalie," a tall blonde chimed in.

The girls surrounding them began to murmur in agreement. "That makes so much sense. The way Emmett looks at her…it's like he'd do anything for her. And he's, like, known her forever. I wonder how long he's loved her?"

The small redhead sighed loudly, staring wistfully at Emmett. "I don't know, but, swoon. I wish I had an Emmett."

As they continued to perpetuate these ridiculous rumors, I thought I was going to lose my cool, or at least intervene and set them straight. But then I realized—what the fuck would I tell them?

Uhh, no, girls. They're just best friends. Emmett and Bella aren't together because…

Yeah, there's no end to that sentence…yet.

Grumbling to myself, I picked up my pace and walked to the other side of Bella so that Emmett and I were flanking her on either side, hoping my mere presence would be enough to dispel any rumors.

The tour ended close to the hotel at a local restaurant where we'd be eating dinner. The girls split up amongst themselves, but Amanda, Becky, and Vanessa begged and pleaded with me to sit at their table. Luckily, Bella intervened, sitting down at the last empty chair with them and shooing me away. I smiled graciously and sat down with Emmett at a table of girls, who were teaching him the fine art of burping.

It ended quickly, and we began to walk back towards the hotel to get ready for a good night of sleep before our epically long day of activities tomorrow.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Bella asked, looking between Emmett and me.

"Movie?" Emmett asked. "I'm sure Long Lake wants to pay for something on demand."

"Sounds great," Bella chirped. "I'll just change into my pajamas and meet you back in your room?"

They both looked at me expectantly, but I wasn't fully there yet. My head was warring with itself, and I wasn't quite sure why. I needed to clear it before putting myself into close quarters with Bella again.

"Um, you guys go ahead. I'm gonna walk around for a little bit more."

Emmett glared at me as Bella's face changed to an expression of hurt. "Oh," she said quietly. "Okay. Well, we'll see you later, then."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, following the campers to the elevator as I meandered through the town. It looked beautiful; he sun was setting, leaving me in a murky dusk that reminded me of the state of my own mind.

Seriously, what was wrong with me?

I had a feeling—a very strong feeling—that Bella liked me. I'd seen it in Emmett's protective stance, Jasper's incredulous stares and Alice's hopeful ones. As I continued to walk through the twilight, more pieces clicked into place. Tanya had helped me realize that I liked Bella and that I wanted a relationship with her, but no one had told me that Bella wanted the same thing. And to be honest, I was a scared little shit who had his head up his ass. I'd somehow convinced myself that I would be content to let Bella be and not interfere, but I'd never even remotely considered the fact that she might want me.

Had I really hated myself enough to delude myself into believing that Bella could never want me?

The answer was a resounding yes.

I was a pathetic loser, a twenty-five year old who still worked as a temp and camp counselor. And Bella was incredible. At the end of this summer, she was going to go to USC and start the career that I'd always dreamed of for myself but would never achieve.

I needed to stop second-guessing myself. My torture ended tonight. No more "will they/won't" they crap. I needed to make my move. And I would.

Resolute in my decision, I turned towards the hotel to find Bella and hash this out once and for all.

~Bella~

Back in my hotel room, I quickly stripped off my clothes and stepped into a pair of shorts, a wife beater, and Edward's red hoodie. If he wasn't going to join us, the least I could do was be comforted by his quasi-presence.

He was driving me insane. I wasn't sure what his motivations were, but Edward Cullen's moods were giving me whiplash. He would go from perfectly content one second to insanely crabby the next to overly flirtatious all in the span of one minute, and I was getting hella frustrated. In my heart, I would always love Edward, but I couldn't stand to put it out there if he'd just stare at it, watching it shrivel up and die. I honestly wouldn't survive.

What was the saying? Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all? Fuck that. My life would be two hundred times easier right now if I'd never loved Edward Cullen at all. And I'd feel way less guilty about the texts Seth and I had been sending back and forth to one another all day.

I'd told Seth about my nerves, being on this trip with Edward, and he was doing everything in his power to help make me smile and relax. Grabbing my phone and wallet, I trudged down the hall to the boys' room. I knocked twice loudly before Emmett swung the door open.

"Where's Jake?" I asked, curious as to where he'd run off to.

Emmett simply rolled his eyes. "He and Danielle are doing room checks."

I rolled my eyes as well. "You know they're going to be out of their rooms within the next thirty minutes, right?"

Emmett nodded, well aware of the time-honored tradition of the girls heading down to the hotel pool to stir up some late-night mayhem. "I figure as long as they don't burn the place down, we're good to go." Smiling, he flopped down onto a large cot that had been wheeled in front of the giant king-sized bed that took up half the room.

"Nice digs."

"Yours isn't as nice?"

I scoffed. "Nope. I guess the administrators like you guys more…obviously. We have a double and the room is, like, half the size of this place."

"Lame-o."

I nodded, absentmindedly chewing on my lip and wondering when Edward would be back. Instinctively, I pulled his hoodie tighter around me, sniffing the faint traces of his scent.

"LB?" I looked up at the sound of my name. Emmett was patting the portion of the cot next to him, signaling for me to sit with him. "Talk to me, little one."

I furrowed my brow, wondering what the fuck he was getting at. "I…about what?"

"You've been upset this weekend. Actually, you've been upset for a while, and I'm the jackass best friend who's been too distracted to ask you why. But I think I've figured it out."

"Oh really, now?" I quipped sarcastically.

A broad smile broke out across Emmett's face, and I smiled back at the sight of his dimples. They always made me smile. "You need a boyfriend."

My smile fell immediately at his words. "What?"

"You need a boyfriend," he repeated, patting my knee. "Let's go through all the options."

"Um, Em? There's only one option, and he's not interested."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed, getting himself riled up. "If Edward isn't going to pull his shit together and stop this hot and cold business, you need to buck up and move on. Consider him not an option…who do you want?"

My head was spinning. Emmett had basically reaffirmed everything I'd been stressed out about, and he would know best, I figured. Knowing that I wouldn't really go along with anything, I let Emmett enjoy his bonding time with me and started to participate.

"Fine…go through some options," I grumbled. "I'll tell you yes or no."

Emmett looked pensive as he went through the options. "Billy Baseball?"

"Too short."

"James from ski?"

"Too skeevy."

"Tim from golf?"

"He's already using Rogaine!" I exclaimed, getting more exasperated by the second.

"Johnny from tennis?"

"Ew."

"Jake?"

I just glared. That suggestion deserved no response.

"What? I'm just saying…you could definitely get that."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure I could, Em. But I don't want that."

"Well, the one you want…" Emmett trailed off, and his eyes flashed over my shoulder as I heard the door click closed. "Hey, Edward."

"Hi," I squeaked, glancing over my shoulder at a very disheveled-looking Edward.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked warily.

Please don't tell him, Emmett, please don't tell him. If I could have telepathic powers at any point in my life, I would have wanted them here above all else. But, of course, I didn't have them, and Emmett explained exactly what we were talking about.

"We're coming up with a boyfriend for LB. Wanna help?"

"Uhh…what?" Edward's face turned red, and his eyes hardened.

"Yeah," I chuckled sarcastically. "Emmett's going through the staff to try and find me a boyfriend. Apparently, that's what I need this summer."

I thought Edward would laugh with me—or participate, even—but instead, he freaked the fuck out. I swore there was steam coming from his ears as he sputtered uncontrollably.

"Wh-what? No! No…no…no way! Em, are you fucking serious? N-no!"

It was as if Emmett's suggestion to find me a boyfriend was blasphemy, and it hurt a little bit to see Edward ridiculing the idea so ferociously.

"Why not?" I asked, trying not to sound completely hurt.

"Why not?" he repeated.

"Yeah, why not?" Emmett felt it necessary to reiterate the point, stabbing at my bleeding heart.

"Because!" Edward exploded, his face turning a deeper shade of red. "No one here is remotely good enough for you." My mouth dropped, and his next statement took the wind out of my lungs. "Not even me." He shook his head and lowered his voice. "Especially not me."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as a blanket of tension wrapped around me, making me feel as if I were being strangled.

"I'm going to get changed…" Edward trailed off quietly, grabbing some clothes and locking himself in the bathroom.

I turned back towards Emmett, trying to get my heart back under control, but I couldn't stop shaking. I didn't know whether it was from rage or nerves or excitement…all I knew was that something major had just happened.

Apparently it hadn't phased Emmett, because he sat smiling, continuing to list off more names.

"What about Greg from sail?"

Distracted, I replied, "I heard he's into really freaky shit…like strangling and whipping—"

Emmett's face turned red as he interrupted me, grabbing both my shoulders. "Little Bella Swan! You are a virgin, and I'm going to pretend that you don't know anything about 'freaky shit,' okay?"

Blood flooded my cheeks as I heard fabric rustle behind me. Great, and now Edward knows I'm a virgin, too. I rue the day that Rosalie and Alice felt like it was appropriate to discuss my virginity in front of the only person in the world who wasn't born with a filter.

"What about Seth?" Emmett continued.

"What about Seth?"

Emmett's face lit up with excitement. "You want him, don't you? You didn't say no!"

"No!" I yelled. "No, no, no, no, no!" I stood up, embarrassed and angry with the turn in the conversation and Edward's lack of participation. His eyes were downcast as he sat on bed, focusing on the remote, which apparently was fascinating to him. "Uh, I'm going to bed."

"But…movie?" Emmett asked with his puppy-dog eyes.

"Watch it with Edward," I spat. "Clearly, I'm too good to spend time with you guys anyway."

At my statement, Edward's shocked eyes met mine, burning with an intensity I wasn't prepared for. I needed to get away. I needed to think and breathe and calm down and figure out exactly what the hell I was going to do next.

I loved Edward. I knew this. And Edward clearly cared about me, but I didn't know if that would ever be enough.

Feeling disappointed and just mentally exhausted, I walked back to my room quickly. I slid my keycard into the door and pushed it open…only to slam it shut immediately.

"Fuck!"

Today really really sucked. I was going to need bleach to erase the sight of Danielle on top of Jake in the bed that I was supposed to be sleeping in tonight.

I begrudgingly knocked on the boys' door again, where Edward's stunned face met my furious one.

"Bella? Is everything okay?"

"Your asshole of a roommate is fucking my roommate in my hotel room…so…I need somewhere to stay tonight. I figured I could just take the cot."

"You could have literally two seconds ago, but Emmett just popped three Ambien and passed the fuck out."

Sure enough, Emmett was sprawled out on the cot, fast asleep. I groaned loudly.

"I'm sorry. Today is not my day, clearly."

"You don't want to sleep with me?" Edward asked, finally letting me into the room and closing the door behind me. "It's a king-sized bed, Bella…and we slept together in my twin like three days ago…"

"I know…I'm just…tired." I pleaded for him to understand, but, per usual, it seemed as if there was a communication barrier between us.

"We can still watch a movie." I nodded, unable to do anything else as I curled under the covers. "What do you want?"

"Whatever you want," I mumbled, letting my eyes fall closed. They snapped back open, though, as I heard the opening lines of the movie.

"Eternal Sunshine?" I propped myself up so that I could see the screen.

"You seemed like you needed to get out of your head."

I smiled, and the bed shifted as Edward climbed in, leaving about six inches of space between us—it might as well have been a chasm a mile wide. It felt as if he were on the opposite side of the world. And as much as I knew it was wrong, I couldn't bear to be that far away from him.

As the movie continued on, I inched closer until I finally had my head resting on his shoulder. He moved his arm to wrap around my shoulders, letting me settle against his chest, and I reveled in the sound of his heartbeat against my ear, lulling me into contented rest. We watched on with interest as Clementine and Joel ran around his brain, picking through his memories. Edward was right—it was the perfect movie to watch to get out of my head.

As the last lines were spoken, I realized I was crying.

"Bella?" he whispered, brushing a tear from my cheek, scorching it with his brief touch. "Why are you crying?"

"It's just beautiful," I sniffed. "They were so in love, but…they couldn't be together."

Edward nodded and sighed, and I could feel his breath curl around my face.

"It's funny, actually. I always thought the point of the movie was that they were always together because they were together in his memories. I've always thought it was super romantic…the last lines…when Joel tells Clem, 'I can't see anything I don't like about you.'"

As soon as he said the words, something changed. The air around us crackled, and I knew that my entire world was about to be altered.

"Edward?" I whispered, placing my hand on his chest and lifting my head up to look at him.

"Hm?" His green eyes glowed in the dim fluorescence of the television, warming every inch of my body.

"I can't see anything I don't like about you."

A slow smile spread across his face. "I can't see anything I don't like about you, either."

"Okay," I sighed, resting my head back down on his chest.

"Yeah." A slow rumble of laughter could be heard. "Okay."

Chapter End Notes: Slow and steady guys…I know you're about ready to kill these two…but they're SO close. I can taste it! Leave me some love, please ;) And don't forget to hop onto the thread and theorize with everyone else. Let's just say, the prologue is almost upon us.