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Chapter Five: Surrounding yourself with family helps you keep your mind off of your crush/bad dates...or not...

Bad Dater's Handbook

Bella Swan:

We immediately launched into a full fledged brawl, only interrupted once when Rosalie entered the room, a plate full of hot, chocolate chip cookies in her hands.

We both thanked her graciously, and she sat next to Emmett, watching the game, and occasionally snatching a cookie from the quickly empting plate. Finally after about an hour of gaming, it was over, though Emmett had won, I had been just a couple of points away from victory myself. Rosalie stood to take the now empty plate into the kitchen.

"Good game little sister," Emmett said, "And thank you Rosalie, again for the cookies."

"Dido!" I shouted after him

Rosalie reappeared and nodded her head, and looked at the clock.

"We better get going, you have classes tomorrow, and it's getting late." She began walking to the door, and I stood along with Emmett.

"Bye Bella, see you again on Scrabble night!" Emmett waved as he walked out the door.

I sighed once they were gone, and cleaned up the video game mess, and made sure the door was locked, before getting ready for bed. I showered and hopped into a pair of sweats and a tank top and then got into bed after turning out the lights.

My last thought of the night was of Mystery Man, and how I didn't want him to be a mystery anymore, and with one last weary sigh, I rolled over a drifted off to sleep.

I woke up groggily the next morning to Alice shaking me awake, already showered and ready to go.

"C'mon sleepy head, we have classes today!"

Once again, I questioned my best friend's sanity. How does she do that in the mornings? And she swears that she doesn't drink coffee. I grumbled and sat up, stretching my arms high above my head and motioning for Alice to leave so I could shower and change.

I hopped into the shower, rinsing the sleep from my eyes, and emerging more awake then I had been previously. I blow dried my thick brown hair, and dressed in a pleated black skirt, and a pale pink blouse, since it was actually very hot for once in Portland, but I made sure I had a jacket just in case.

"I made waffles!" Alice sang from the kitchen. I had been right, after about two more weeks, Alice had dropped muffins like they were out of style – and knowing Alice, they probably were – and had moved on the waffles, which she ate constantly.

I followed the scent wafting down the hallway, and saw Alice in an apron, in front of a waffle iron that Jasper had gotten for her, turning the machine and taking out two blueberry waffles.

"Sit down!" Alice exclaimed, reaching up to grab a plate to put the waffles on, and setting three on a plate for me, already smothered in syrup.

She sat down herself after she had cleaned out and put away the waffle iron, smiling at me from across the table, I just grimaced and muttered sleepily;

"Thanks Alice…"

"Your welcome and I know that means a lot, coming from you at eight thirty in the morning, usually, you're not even audible this early." She giggled at my livid expression.

"I am too audible this early…just not loud…like you!" I said sticking my tongue out at her childishly.

"Love you too!" She giggled, covering her mouth, since she still had food in it.

We quickly scarfed down the food, and dropped them off in the sink, I would wash them later since my classes ended earlier than Alice's even though they started at the same time.

When I finally got to the classroom, I collapsed in a desk, the first empty one that I could find, and released my crumpled schedule from my death grip. I leaned back and let out a long breath to calm myself. I had rushed to the room, thinking that I would be late, but as it turns out, of course, my watch was slow, and so there were actually few people in the room already.

I turned in my desk to see who was sitting around me and was shocked to meet a pair of jewel colored eyes.

His tousled bronze hair looked just as it did when I had last seen him, hopelessly messy, and his emerald green eyes were just as scorching. But this time, he was wearing a dark grey hoodie, and a pair of jeans.

I could already feel the drool coming at the sight of him. I leaned over the empty desk directly behind me so I was closer to him; he was sitting one desk behind me.

Honestly, in that moment, I didn't care if he had a girlfriend, I just wanted to go on a date with him. Whoa, I think that's the first time I've actually said that I wanted to go on a date…freaky.

He looked at me and leaned over also, so our elbows were almost touching.

"I'm Edward." He said grinning widely.

I blushed and replied, "I'm Bella…" His eyes widened for a minute before he asked.

"Do you know an Alice Brandon?"

I nodded my head hesitantly; why was he talking about Alice? Surprisingly, he started laughing and then turned and threw up one of those heart stopping crooked grins of his and turned to me again.

"Do you know her?" I asked stupidly.

"Not very well, we've talked once, and all she could talk about was you." He chuckled lowly, the sound almost as enticing as his smile.

When I got home, I was giving Alice a hug. He actually knew my name! I felt kind of stupid, and like a giggly school girl who just talked to the captain of the football team, but honestly I didn't care. Just call me a cheerleader.

"I remember seeing you at the park about a month ago." He mused and I laughed shakily.

Yeah, I remember, I've been thinking about it every day for the past month…ha, ha, funny…

"Yeah I remember I saw you on my jog." I said trying to play it cool. He smiled and nodded, and before I could say anything else, the teacher came in; he was a stout man and was very short, he rubbed his hand on the back of his balding head and laughed.

"Sorry for being late on the first day class…" Some of us snickered, but I wasn't paying attention well enough to figure out whom, I was already a million years away, thinking about the girlfriend that I was certain that he had.

There was no way I could get him now, if he had a girlfriend, it was probably some manicured, plastic girl that belonged on the cover of Vanity Fair.

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