Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would have been smut. Since there wasn't, I guess I don't own it.

A/N: So glad that everyone seems to be enjoying the story! Thank you for reading and for reviewing. Makes my day seeing those reviews. Big thanks to Chylex28 for corrected all of my grammatical crap.

Design For Life

"The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of people with tattoos." ~Author Unknown

BOV

Sunday morning, I woke up at around eight. I was nervous, and a bit terrified, of what brunch would bring. I had been completely shocked when Edward asked me. Of course, once he realized what he'd done, he tried to backpedal and tell me not to worry about it. I had a feeling that was the first time that Edward asked a girl anywhere. I had shocked myself when I told him I'd go, but the look on his face was priceless. He'd gotten a huge smile on his face when I'd agreed. Now, however, I was regretting saying yes. Family brunch seemed a bit, intimate. I knew that Alice and Emmett would be there, which meant that Jasper and Rosalie would most likely be there as well. I didn't have a problem with Jasper, but I wasn't sure how I felt about the rest of them.

Meeting Alice on Friday had been ... interesting. She was something else, and I couldn't decide if that was good or bad. I had walked into the library, teasing Edward about making some kid cry, when my phone had rung. Once I saw it was Laurent, I shut it off, and felt the need to tell Edward that it was my ex. I wasn't sure why it was so important to me that he knew I was single. Did I like Edward? Sure. Was he cute? You bet. Was I falling for him? Nope. Not at all. No way. Not my type. We were friends. That was all. Not a few minutes later, I was assaulted by a tiny woman. She'd thrown her arms around me, hugging me, and rambling on and on about something. I hated it when strangers got familiar with me, and I'd sent Edward a plea for help. He'd pried her off of me and explained to her that she couldn't go around hugging people.

She was like a hyperactive child that someone mistakenly fed sugar to. It was a bit much to take, and I eventually excused myself to hunt down some books. I had walked by the Local History room and noticed old Mrs. Riley, ogling Jasper's ass, as he bent over to get a book for her. I couldn't really fault her. He did have a nice ass. He stood up and gave me a friendly smile when he saw me.

"Hey, Bella."

"Hi, Jasper. How goes it?"

Rolling his eyes, and nodding his head in Mrs. Riley's direction, he said, "It goes. Did you meet Alice yet? She's been dying to meet you."

"Yeah, I met her. She's ... something else."

He snickered. "That she is, but I love her to death."

I could see how Jasper and Alice fit together. He was the calm to her hurricane. I found it hard to believe that she and Edward were related. He was so quiet and shy, and she was very outgoing. Then, there was Emmett. I didn't really have an opinion of him yet. I'd only met him on Saturday, when he and his wife had shown up at the shop. He did seem to enjoy picking on Edward a bit. Rosalie, on the other hand, was a raging bitch. I had been surprised to hear her comments to Edward. When I'd pierced her nip a week earlier, she was fine. Polite, if not a bit distant. But I was floored by what I heard from her at the shop on Saturday.

I had offered them drinks, and wasn't surprised at all, when Edward asked for tea. Of course, that had led to Emmett teasing him, and then Rosalie had felt the need to jump in as well. So what if he drank tea or wore tweed? That didn't make him an old man at all. It made me think of a hot professor. I was glad to hear Edward telling her to butt out. I was afraid that he'd let her walk all over him. It had taken everything in me, not to bitch slap her, when she'd outed him in the shop. Sure, we weren't busy. However, it was no one's business, but Edward's, if he was a virgin.

I'd returned, giving them their drinks, and doing my best to act like I hadn't heard anything. Edward had a hard enough time being around me, and I didn't want to alienate him even further. Taking the spotlight off of him, I asked Jasper and Alice if they knew what they wanted. Once we'd figured out what they wanted, I took them into the back.

I sat Jasper down in the chair and explained to him what I was going to do. I swabbed his upper arm with some soap and water, then transferred the stencil that I'd made onto his arm. After he agreed that it would look good there, I set out the ink. We'd gone with red, white, blue, and black. I poured the ink into the ink caps, then opened the sterile packages that contained the needles and tubes, placing them into the tattoo gun. I had just started outlining the tat, when I realized that he was holding his breath.

"Jasper, you need to breath. Can't have you passing out on me."

"Sorry," he said through gritted teeth.

Finally, being done with the outline, I began to shade and color it in, so that it looked like the Texas flag. Not too much later, we were done. I applied some ointment to it, placed some gauze over it, and lectured him on taking care of it. I then turned to Alice.

"You ready?'

"Yep!"

I cleaned up my space, replacing the needles and tubes, and got the new ink ready. She had decided on a white rabbit, to be placed on her back, near her right shoulder. She spent the whole time talking to me. She told me all about her and Jasper and how they'd met. She then proceeded to tell me all about Edward.

"He's always been shy, you know. It was way worse once we hit high school. His junior year, we got a new student. Her name was Jessica, and she was immediately popular. Poor Edward crushed on her so hard, but she treated him like dirt. She and her boyfriend, Mike, would terrorize him. They made his life hell. It wasn't until his senior year, that he even got a girlfriend. She was nice, I guess. Real quiet, just like him. They didn't last too long. That was five years ago, and he hasn't dated since."

While I was fascinated, and itching to know more about Edward, I couldn't let her go on. I felt like we were gossiping about him, and that wasn't fair to him. If he wanted me to know any of this, he would tell me himself. Once done, we all ended up going out to lunch. It was awkward. Especially, since Jacob wouldn't stop touching me. I wasn't sure what he was playing at, and I called him on it later.

"Aw, c'mon Bells. I was just having fun."

"You were making Edward uncomfortable."

Jake had rolled his eyes at me. "The boy was jealous. I could tell. He wants you bad."

Then it was my turn to roll my eyes. I wasn't so sure about that. Then again, here I was, getting ready to go to brunch with Edward and his family. At ten-thirty, there was a knock on my door. I opened the door and found a very cute, very nervous Edward on my porch.

"Good mo... morning, Bella."

"Morning, Edward. Did you want to come in?"

He shook his head. "We should go. Brunch is at eleven sharp. Mom gets mad if we're late."

With that, we walked out of my house, and headed to his Volvo. His nice, sensible, shiny, immaculately clean, Volvo. He would probably have a heart attack if he sat in the Beast. The ride to his parent's house was quiet, but not awkward. Fifteen minutes later, we turned onto a private driveway, hidden in the woods. As his parent's house came into view, I let out a gasp.

"Holy, shit!"

Edward gave me a small smile. "It's something, isn't it?"

I could only nod. Their house was stunning. Three stories, gray stone, with huge windows. It was magnificent. We parked, and Edward rushed over to open my door. Apparently, chivalry wasn't dead. Thanking him, I followed him up the steps, and was greeted at the front door by a beautiful woman. She had Edward's eyes, and light auburn hair.

"Good morning, my son."

"Morning, Mom. This is Bella. Bella, this is my mother, Esme."

I stuck out my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen."

She took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's wonderful to meet you, Bella. And call me Esme. Won't you come in? We're just waiting on Emmett and Rosalie."

I followed Esme into the house, and was blown away by it all. It was so pristine. I could see where Edward got his cleanliness from. Esme gestured me into, what had to be, the formal dining room. A handsome older man was setting places at the table.

"Carlisle, dear. Come meet Edward's Bella."

Edward flushed and was quick to correct his mom. "Mom!" he hissed at her. "She isn't mine."

I pretended not to hear what was being said, and focused my gaze on the man standing in front of me. Mr. Cullen was hot. There were no other words to describe it. He held out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Bella."

"You as well, Mr. Cullen," I said, shaking his hand.

"Dr. Cullen," Edward whispered to me. Well, fuck. I'd gone and made my an ass out of myself.

"Sorry. Dr. Cullen."

His blue eyes twinkled, dimples appearing as he flashed me a big smile. I was instantly reminded of Emmett.

"Call me Carlisle."

A few minutes later, Emmett came booming into the dining room, followed by Rosalie. She was dressed to the nines.

"Good morning, Esme. Carlisle," she said in a sickly sweet voice. His parents greeted her with smiles and hugs, seemingly oblivious to her fakeness. Esme and Carlisle headed into the kitchen, with Emmett following. Once we were alone, she turned and gave me an insincere smile.

"Bella. How nice to see you? What brings you to brunch?"

"I invited her," Edward said, before I could answer.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, he did," I told her.

I couldn't stand the tension in the room, so I asked Edward where the bathroom was. I was on my way back from the bathroom, when I heard Rosalie having a go at him.

"You do know the only reason she's here, is because she feels sorry for you," she told him. "I mean why else would someone like her go anywhere with someone like you."

"There's nothing wrong with me," he growled at her.

She let out a snort. "Just keep telling yourself that."

"What is your problem, Rosalie?"

"You annoy the fuck out of me. You're such a fucking prude."

"That's it? That's your reasoning?"

I chose that moment to make myself known. "Rosalie, may I speak to you for a moment?"

Edward left the room, and I turned to look at her. "Not that it's any of your fucking business, but I came because I wanted to. Not because I feel sorry for him. And for the record. Edward's perfect the way he is."

She rolled her eyes at me, then stepped into my personal bubble. "Back the fuck off. It's none of your business what I say or do with Edward. I'm family. You're not. Just remember that," she hissed at me, before stalking away.

I was stunned. What a bitch! Before I could dwell on what she'd said, the family came back in, and brunch was served. After my first bite, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Esme was one hell of a cook, and I let her know.

"Thank you, dear. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I made a bit of everything. So what do you do for a living?" she asked, switching subjects on me quickly.

I swallowed the food in my mouth and let her know that I worked at a tattoo shop. "How did you get into the field?" Carlisle asked.

"I started off working as a receptionist at a shop back in Phoenix while going to college. Before long, the owner Billy, noticed that I liked to draw and proceeded to teach me about tattooing. I absolutely love it."

"It's always rewarding to have a job that you love."

I agreed with him. Once everyone was done eating, I offered to help Esme clean up. She refused and tried to shoo me into the living room with her children, but I refused. She had gone out of her way to cook such a nice meal, that I felt it was only right to help her out. Once the table was cleared, she wouldn't let me help anymore, so I wandered into the living room. Alice and Jasper were curled up in a recliner, while Emmett and Rosalie had commandeered the couch. That left the love seat with Edward. I moved into the room, and the hushed conversation they were having, came to a halt. Hesitantly, I walked further into the room, noting the not so friendly looks I was getting from everyone. Well, not everyone. Edward refused to even look at me.

"What?" I asked.

Alice gave me a small smile that seemed slightly insincere. "Nothing."

I had obviously missed something while I was helping out. I narrowed my gaze and turned it on Alice.

"Bullshit."

Alice had the nerve to look upset with me. "Excuse me?"

"Obviously, I missed something while I was helping your parents out. Something, I might add, that none of you bothered to do. So what horrible offense did I commit?"

"You know exactly what you did," Alice scoffed.

"Again, bullshit. All I did was help clean up the brunch that your parents were nice enough to cook."

Even Jasper, sweet, kind Jasper was giving me a not so friendly look. Well. I knew when I wasn't wanted. Excusing myself, I said goodbye to Esme and Carlisle after thanking them for a wonderful meal. I then walked out the door and started walking. It was quite a walk back to my house, but that was fine with me. I was pissed off, and the walk would give me time to cool down. I wasn't sure what the fuck had just happened, but I wasn't going to play whatever game they were playing. I'd been walking for about a mile, and my ass was frozen. I wasn't used to this cold ass shit, and my body was letting me know it. I heard a car approaching, and gripped the pepper spray on my key chain a bit tighter.

"Bella!"

Edward. I turned around and saw his Volvo slowing to a stop. I kept walking. I was upset with him. I'd thought that we were friends, but whatever the fuck had happened at his parents' house, made it clear to me that we weren't.

"Bella, please!" he called out, his voice edged with desperation.

I let out a sigh, before giving in and turning around. I stalked over to the driver's side, giving Edward a frosty look. "What?" I spat out.

He had the decency to look abashed. "Would you please get in? It's a long walk back to your house. Please?"

"Fine."

I walked around his car and climbed into the passenger seat, thankful for the warmth of the car.

"Bella," he began, but I cut him off.

"Don't, Edward. Just don't. I don't know what the fuck just happened back there, but I'm more than a little pissed off at you. I realize that we don't really know each other, but I thought that we were friends."

"We are," he insisted.

"Really? Because my friends don't treat me like shit after they've invited me to brunch with their family. Is that what you do? Invite some unsuspecting fool over for brunch, then give them the cold shoulder and make them feel like shit afterward?" I asked, anger lacing my voice.

"What?" he sputtered out. "No! Of course not!"

"Whatever, Edward. I just want to go home."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. From the corner of my eye, I could see Edward blinking back, what looked like tears. I don't know what he was so upset about? He wasn't the one treated like shit. Finally, we pulled into his drive, and I didn't wait for him to open my door. I got out, coldly thanked him, and headed home.

I spent the rest of my day upset and feeling bitter. I hated being played, and it sure felt like I had been. I was sitting on my couch, eating ice cream, when my phone rang.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, baby. How are you? How is Washington?"

"I'm okay. Washington is fine."

She wasn't buying it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's stupid. It's ... okay, so I met this guy, Edward, and I thought we were friends. He's real shy and quiet, a bit like I was in high school. Anyway, he invited me to his family's house for brunch this morning, so I went. Things were fine, except for a minor encounter with his bitchy sister-in-law, then I helped his folks clean up. I headed into the living room to hang out with them afterward, and they, his siblings and their significant others, gave me the silent treatment, refusing to meet my gaze. I'm fucking pissed!" I ranted to her.

"Bella, honey. Did you stop to think that the sister-in-law might have said something, causing them to react the way they did?"

Huh. I hadn't stopped to think that. Mom was probably right. But even if Rosalie had said something about me, why would Edward side with her?

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"

I hadn't realized that I'd voiced the question out loud. We chatted for a bit more, and I had calmed down considerably after our talk. I loved my mom. Sure, she was a bit scattered, but once in a while, she made perfect sense. She was right. I needed to talk to Edward, despite the fact that I was still a bit angry with him. Throwing a hoodie on, I headed out the door and over to his house.

I knocked a couple of times until he opened the door. His eyes were rimmed with red, and it was obvious that he had been crying.

"B ... Bella! What are you doing here?" his voiced quivered a bit.

"I wanted to talk to you about today."

He opened the door and gestured me inside. I walked in, and sat down on the couch, waiting for him to join me. He sat down on the opposite side of the couch, barely looking at me.

"Edward, what the fuck happened today after brunch?"

He flinched at the harshness in my voice. "While you were helping Mom and Dad, Rosalie told us what you said to her."

"So, she told you that I was there because I wanted to be, and that I thought you were perfect the way you are?"

He looked up, startled. "Um ... no. She said that the only reason you were there was because you felt sorry for me. She said you said to leave the pathetic little virgin bitch alone. If anyone was gonna mess with me, it'd be you."

"After all the shit that she's said to you, you chose to believe her! Have I ever given you the impression that I thought you were pathetic? Well, have I?" I was practically shouting at him.

"No."

"Then why?

His lower lip trembled and his voice wavered. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I was already feeling insecure, and Emmett kept teasing me about liking you. I mean, I know there's no way that you would ever like a guy like me, so when Rosalie told us that you said those things, it was easy to believe."

"Do you have any idea how much that hurt me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. I had felt utterly betrayed by him.

He shook his head. "No. I'm so sorry!" he cried. "I know I should never have believed her. Oh, God. You hate me now, don't you!"

Scooting over, I put a hand on his arm. "I don't hate you. Am I disappointed that you'd buy into Rosalie's bullshit? Yes. Am I hurt that you'd think I was the kind of person who would talk about you behind your back? You bet."

He looked so sad. "Are we not friends anymore?"

"Hey. I'm still your friend. Just your slightly pissed off friend. Not so much at you anymore, but definitely at Rosalie. And Jasper. I thought he and I were becoming friends, but apparently he was just as eager to believe her bullshit."

We both sat there quietly for a few minutes. "Edward, I want to apologize for my language. I know you're not a big fan of swearing, and I've been going at it since I walked in the door."

"It's okay, Bella. I've told you that. Just be you."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Perhaps you should take your own advice?"

"I know. I know. Dad's always telling me that."

"Well, your dad seems like a smart guy. Cute, too."

A look of horror crossed over his face. "Ugh."

I let out a laugh. We spent the next few hours getting to know one another. I learned that Edward hated red apples, loved chocolate, and was allergic to certain fabric softeners. His favorite color was brown, his favorite book was All Quiet on the Western Front, and he loved to watch Doctor Who.

"Oh, yeah. Who's your favorite Doctor?"

His jaw dropped. "You're a Whovian?"

"I am."

"Wow. You're the coolest woman I know."

"Thanks," I laughed. "So?"

"Oh, I like Tom Baker. He was awesome, but David Tennant and Matt Smith were good too. How about you?"

"DT all the way. I love that man."

He popped in the fifth season of Doctor Who, and we killed the rest of the night watching it. At around eleven, it was time to call it a night. We both had work in the morning. Reluctantly, I left his house, but not before giving him a quick hug. He stood frozen, before wrapping his arms around me, returning it. He gave a good hug.

"Night, Edward."

"Goodnight, Bella. Thank you for being my friend."

He was too damn sweet. Dammit! I liked him. And not in a friends only kinda way. I was so fucked. He was too sweet and innocent. I would destroy him.

(break)

"What the fuck am I going to do, Seth?"

"Do about what?"

"Have you not listened to a word I've said?"

"Sorry, Bells. I was distracted," he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. It was a quiet morning, so Seth and I were cleaning the main area, while Jake was restocking things. The distraction that was causing Seth to ignore me, was Jacob's very fine ass.

"Now what is it that you're freaking out about?" he asked, turning his gaze to mine.

"IlikeEdward," I rushed out.

"We know."

I gaped at him. "What do you mean, 'we know'?"

"Oh, c'mon, Bells. It's obvious to both Jake and I, that you really like him."

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"So, what are your plans, regarding Little Cullen?"

"No idea. He's not exactly well versed in the ways of women. I don't want to scare him off. I think being friends for now is the best thing. I mean, I'm pretty sure he likes me, but friends first is the best way to go."

"Oh, he totally likes you. No doubt about that, but I think you're right. He's a bit gun shy. Go slow, but not too slow."

"What are we talking about?" Jake interrupted.

"Bells and her plan to snag Little Cullen."

"Ha! I knew it. Better be careful. That boy is as pure as snow. We wouldn't want you to corrupt him with your wild, wicked ways."

The rest of the day was spent being teased relentlessly by two overgrown boys. By the time I got home from work, I'd heard all kinds of innuendos from those two, as well as ways to corrupt poor Edward. Later that night, I snuggled down in my bed, when there was knock on my door. Fuck! Shoving my feet into some slippers, I trudged down the stairs, cursing whoever was at my door. Imagine my surprise, when I found a very unsteady Edward standing there. His hair was a mess, a silly grin on his face.

"Edward, are you drunk?"