A/N: I'm a bit of a review whore, so I'm posting this a tiny bit earlier than expected. Hehe. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I really love knowing what you think. I've got my laptop back, so I've got the means to write again!!! Thanks to LittleLea05 for being my groovy beta!!!!

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. So there.

EmPOV

I was low. Lower than low. I hated who I was now. I wasn't me anymore. I was a broken shell of who I used to be, physically and emotionally. I lashed out at Swan every chance I got. I knew I was being a nasty mother fucker, and she never let me forget it. She was just as nasty to me, but then again, she had every right to be.

My mom came to take care of me for two days, which got Swan off my hands, but my mother drove me nearly as crazy. I loved my mom; I was a total mama's boy, which made the situation even worse.

I didn't want anyone's sympathy, and no one seemed to understand that. Teammates would try to stop by, and I had Mom or Swan, whoever was there, turn them away. I couldn't be seen like this. Even if I never stepped on the ice again, I never wanted anyone to see me weak like this. The next time I would be seen by anyone, I'd be fucking sprinting to them.

Everyone and everything made me irritable. My discomfort in the heat, which I would have hated hurt or not, and the frustration of laying horizontal all day long for weeks made everything so much worse. I went between snapping Swan's head off, to wanting to apologize every five seconds.

I was practically bi-polar by now.

It had been two weeks, and I kept fighting back the lump in my throat. I. Would. Not. Cry. I was Emmett Fucking Cullen. I would move on from this. I'd be myself again. I'd make sure that my future was bright no matter what I did. I could pull myself out of this. I was determined to be myself again.

I could see Swan sitting on the couch, reading a thick looking book. I had no idea how she could read so much. Then again, I didn't have a TV in the living room. Maybe I could offer…?

"Bella, would you… like to watch TV with me?"

Her head snapped up from her book, a look of shock on her face. "Alright," she said hesitantly, and I couldn't blame her. Earlier today I'd blown up at her for not getting the temperature of my macaroni and cheese just right.

I instantly hated myself even more. This wasn't me. I was a fun loving guy who didn't make demands. I didn't depend on anyone, and I didn't make people bow to me. I had to prove that to her. I didn't know why, but I felt a desperate need to make her comfortable around me. To be nice to her. I wanted her to know I wasn't the bad guy she seemed to think I was. I mean, lately, I had been. But I wanted her to see the real me.

She walked carefully into the room. Her eyes were wandering, looking around the room. Anywhere but me. Not for the first time, my heart sunk.

"What would you like to watch?" I asked, trying to sound friendly.

"Uh… whatever you want is fine with me," she said. I tried very hard not to stare at her. Her doe eyes were wide and uneasy. I could very easily lose myself in their depths. She licked her lips, and my mind's eye saw her licking them right before I kissed the breath out of her.

I shook away those thoughts, and flicked through the channels slowly, giving her a chance to react to each choice. We finally decided on a program on the History channel. Nice and neutral.

We watched in silence. She sat to my left, clearly uncomfortable to be sitting next to me on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked suddenly. Her whole body was turned towards me, TV ignored. I muted it. Was it wrong that I was elated she wanted to talk to me?

"Not good," I admitted. "I hate this… all of this. I'm not me anymore."

Her eyebrows raised high on her forehead, clearly surprised I had opened up so quickly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. I'm…" I took a huge breath. "I'm just trying to find a way to apologize for how I've been treating you. I've been an ass. You don't deserve that."

"Err… thank you," she mumbled, staring down at her hands. "I'm sorry I've been rude to you, too. You're hurt. You don't need me to be a bitch on top of everything."

It was second nature in me to snap back, tell her never to mention I was hurt ever again. But I wanted her to see the nice side of me. I kept it to myself.

"So tell me more about your boyfriend," I said, looking back at the muted TV.

"He's not my boyfriend," she said quickly. Too quickly.

"Right. So fuck buddies then?"

Her eyes flashed in anger. Whoa, hit the wrong nerve. "We are not 'fuck buddies', as you so crudely put it. We are friends."

"Who fuck?" I grinned widely. I didn't care if I was being a bastard again. I had just noticed how sexy she looked when she was pissed off, and I wanted to push all her buttons now. It was worth it to see her blush. I wondered how far that blush went down her sexy body.

"I can't believe I ever thought I could be nice to you," she seethed. "You are such an asshole."

"Baby, don't put me in the same category as your precious little Edward. Is he still under the impression I'm going to fuck you? Tell him he's got no competition from me. I don't have sex with uptight bitches."

"You… you…" she stammered. Her brown eyes were flashing with murder. The only thing I wanted to do was have her ride me hard into oblivion. I felt myself harden slightly, and grabbed a pillow to cover myself up.

"I'm surprised you're that picky, Cullen," she finally spat out. "I didn't realize you had standards for who you bring to bed with you."

That was a low blow. True anger curled around my stomach and heart, and I had to stop myself from clenching my right hand in a fist. Any desire for her went straight out the window.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I said slowly, carefully.

"Don't I?" Her tone was nasty, her eyes narrowed. "Don't think I don't know what happened prom night."

"What?!" I was absolutely astounded. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"You ABANDONED me… no… STOOD ME UP, so that you could go off and screw Jessica Stanley on prom night. I was absolutely humiliated, Emmett. I was all ready, in my fucking prom dress, waiting all night long, and you never showed up. I bought you a fucking boutonniere because Renee and Esme assured me that you would show up. I didn't even WANT to go, but they MADE me, and I looked like a fool."

Tears were streaming down her face, and I could only stare at her, mouth agape.

"I can't believe you remembered that. You never said a word. How was I supposed to know-"

"Emmett, nearly everything you've ever done our entire lives has hurt me in one way or another. You might not mean it, but it does, and that's why I just can't do this. I can't do it anymore. I've tried to be nice. It never works. I'm going to call Esme and tell her I can't do this anymore."

"No!" The sound burst from my throat before I could even process it in my brain. I felt as shocked as Bella looked. "I mean… I don't want you to leave. What I mean is…"

"Emmett, stop. You and I both know this isn't working well. We're not happy."

"I know you're just here because you love my parents and feel obligated. And I don't want you to feel obligated. But I honestly don't want any more people to see me this way. I hate it. And… when I'm not being a douche, and you're not being a bitch, I like knowing that you're here. It's not so lonely."

I couldn't believe the level of verbal diarrhea that had just escaped my mouth. I wasn't one for emotional speeches, and that was about as close as I'd gotten to one in quite a long time. I made myself vulnerable; in other words, more weak.

It felt good, and that was disturbing.

Bella stared at me with wide eyes, and I audibly gulped. She was seeing me bare and stripped, and not in the physical sense. I could feel her gaze burning into my skin, and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't.

"Okay," she said softly, after an agonizing silence that filled the room. "I'll stay. But we have to agree… we have to be nice to each other. I don't like fighting."

"Could have fooled me," I said, but I smiled at her to know I wasn't serious. I was surprised to see her smile back. I liked it. She had a beautiful smile.

BPOV

Had I just agreed to stay? After everything we'd said to each other? After all the years I'd spent resenting him and he'd spent reopening my old wounds he didn't even know existed?

Fuck, I'm such a pushover.

Yet, something felt good about this… for now. My emotions regarding Emmett were out of control and spiraling one way to another. One minute, I hated him. The next, I lusted for him. And then I wanted to be his friend. It was far too bizarre.

I'd never seen him so exposed before, emotionally. Yes, the last few weeks he had shown signs of depression far beyond anything I knew how to remedy, but his truthful admissions of loneliness and a fierce need for strength and independence shocked me. In that moment, I had seen nothing but honesty, nothing but truth. And fear. I saw that, too.

I wanted nothing more than to soothe that fear, let him know everything was going to be okay. But I also knew he'd throw that in my face if I did. I didn't want him to close up again. It was a fine line between friendship and sympathy in his mind, and I didn't want to cross it.

My phone buzzed, and I saw that it was Alice calling me.

"Hey Alice," I said, happy to talk with her again.

"Hi Bella," she said, her voice light and happy. "How's the patient?"

"Surprisingly nice at the moment. We've made a peace treaty."

"Oh good!" she squealed. "I knew you would eventually."

"Well, it's tenuous at best, but we're going to try… or at least, I'M going to try. We got a lot of… issues… out, and I think it'll make it easier for us to move on now."

"You had issues?"

"Ugh, it's a long story, I'll tell you another time."

"Bella," she whined. "Please?"

I had to laugh. "Alice, you have to learn that you aren't always going to get your way, even when you use that cute little puppy dog look."

I could practically hear her pout over the phone. "Bella, I miss you, I want to see you," she announced suddenly. "I'm going to drive over now."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Emmett's not too keen on having visitors right now. He doesn't really want to be seen by anybody."

"Anybody but you?" Her voice was far too curious and somehow knowing.

"Oh, stop it."

"I'm coming over now," she said, and hung up before I could protest again.

I sighed. That little brat would do whatever she liked, and everyone knew she'd get away with it.

I debated telling Emmett, but decided it would be better to be "surprised" by Alice's sudden appearance. Besides, I could see that he was fast asleep in his bedroom. If I closed his door, he'd never be any the wiser.

I tidied my couch bed, which was still uncomfortable as hell, and made it look presentable. Obviously, Alice was my roommate and wouldn't be bothered by a mess, but if I was going to be seen in a bachelor pad, it was going to be a clean one.

In less time than I expected, I heard a knock, and slid Emmett's door closed silently behind me. If I could reign in Alice's enthusiasm, he'd never know, and no one would see him vulnerable.