Once again, I've moved all my links for my stories. They are now at my blogger, the link is on my profile. I've added a new picture today of James' house. Also, TKegl made me an awesome banner for this story, you can view that there.
I was still experiencing some sort of post-resolution high as I made my way to the diner for dinner. However, I tried my best to keep my face neutral and not show any telltale signs of unusual excitement.
We ate our burgers and fries and talked animatedly about everything that was going on in our lives. Well, Jessica, Rosalie and Lauren talked about what was going on in their lives. I just mentioned the highlights of my trip. Jessica was incredulous that I had spent an entire day at the beach, only to come home with no tan or pictures of hot surfers.
After dinner, we loitered out in the parking lot for a while, still chatting, until Lauren glanced at the display on her phone and sighed.
"Alright, I gotta go home. My mom will have my ass if I don't finish all my homework tonight." She was probably right. Lauren had an older brother who was going to Stanford on a full scholarship. The
Mallory's took their education very serious. All except Lauren.
"Hey, IM tonight?" Rosalie called over to me, as I was getting in my truck.
"Um, yeah. Okay." Rosalie never asked me to chat online with her, unless it was something important. Usually, we just chatted if we saw each other online.
O-O
When I got home that night, Charlie was parked in front of the television, watching something on PBS. A half eaten TV dinner sat cold on the coffee table, alongside a beer.
"Hey, Bells. Come in here a sec," Charlie said, as I tried to make my way quietly to my bedroom.
"Sure, dad. What's up?" I asked, taking a seat across from him on the couch.
"I was just wondering if you would make enough dinner for four tomorrow night," Charlie said, looking somewhat sheepish.
"No problem, who's coming over?" I asked, although I was pretty sure I knew. We didn't exactly have a lot of visitors.
"Oh, just Billy and Jacob. Sarah has her quilting circle to go to, so they're coming over here for the game."
The Blacks were longtime friends of Charlie's and when my parents were still married, of Renee's. They had three kids. Rachel and Rebecca were the oldest, twin girls, who lived in Portland, working and taking classes at the community college there. Jacob was a pretty cool kid. He was always up for anything and we ended up talking about the weirdest shit together.
"Okay, sounds good. I'm going to head upstairs now. I have some reading for English to do and then I'm going to go to bed."
"Alright, night Bells." Charlie called after me, turning his attention back to the television.
"Goodnight, dad."
After getting ready for bed, I laid on my stomach, on my bed and turned on my laptop. As soon as I signed on to IM, Rose's screen name popped up.
CherryBomb89: Geez Bella, take your time!
PhnxGrl00: Geez Rose, I didn't know I was being timed!
CherryBomb89: Sorry. PMSing. Are you?
PhnxGrl00: Am I PMSing? No...
CherryBomb89: Then WTF is going on, Swan. And don't say nothing because I don't buy that shit.
I bit my lip. Damn. I guess it was time to come clean. I mean, I did say I wanted to tell her.
PhnxGrl00: My mom is pregnant.
Like ripping off a band-aid. Nice and quick. It was several seconds before Rose responded.
CherryBomb89: HOLY SHIT. No way. Seriously?
PhnxGrl00: Yeah, seriously.
CherryBomb89: Shit. You're going to have a sibling.
PhnxGrl00: Yeah, that's what happens when your mom is pregnant.
CherryBomb89: Bitch.
CherryBomb89: Are you alright? I mean, how are you?
PhnxGrl00: I don't even know. I have no idea. I mean, its good, I guess. For her.
CherryBomb89: Okay, we def need to talk in person about this. Can u get your ass up early enough for a Mocha Motion run?
PhnxGrl00: Sure. I gotta go. Lot's of homework tonight. I'll be at MM at 7!
I shut the laptop closed before Rose had a chance to respond.
It felt good to tell Rose about my mom. I worried briefly that I hadn't told her not to tell anyone else, but I knew Rosalie wouldn't. She was cool like that.
Tomorrow was going to be a good day. I think.
Which brought me to something else. Edward. I hadn't really been able to think about my afternoon in the park with him. Then I started to worry.
I mean, I didn't want to over analyze our exchange as we parted ways. But he basically asked me if I would be in the library at lunch. And I said I would be.
Any thoughts of Edward Cullen had began to cause my body to react in strange ways. This could not be good. Maybe it was just nerves about sneaking around my friends back. Sure there had been guys I had thought were cute in the past, both in Phoenix and in Forks, but none of them had caused my heart to speed up or my mind to become flustered.
Despite how anxious I felt at tomorrow, I went to bed early anyways. I laid in bed for nearly an hour, until the familiar sound of rain tapping against my window pane lulled me into a dreamless sleep.
O-O
Rose was already at Mocha Motion when I go there the next morning. I parked my truck next to her car and hopped up on the bed of the truck, taking the hot chocolate she had already gotten from me.
"Yeah, soo..." I began.
"Your mom is pregnant. With a baby. From what I've heard about your mom, I can understand why you may have reservations about that."
I shook my head. "I want to be happy for her. I mean, I am happy for her. It's just like...she meets this guy that's realistically way too young for her. She gets married, wants to uproot us from the only stable living situation we've ever had. I mean its..."
"Selfish?" Rose finished for me.
"Yeah, selfish, I guess. I don't know if she's making these decisions with anyone else in mind, or if she's just going with the flow. Which is typical Renee style."
"Your mom had you like...really young. Like basically when she was your age. It makes sense that she's caught up in some guy like that," Rose tried to reason.
"But a baby? I'm almost eighteen! I feel like I don't have a place in her life. She has a new husband and she's going to have his kid. I feel like I'm going to become another Charlie in her life. Left behind."
"Bella-"
I cut her off. "No. She's trying to convince me to move to Jacksonville in time for the baby. I don't want to. Forks may not be the most exciting place to live, but I have stability and predictability."
"Yes, but-"
"I know that's not what most teenagers want, but with Renee, there was no guarantee that I would be living in the same town by the time summer vacation was over. I never had real friends because of that."
I huffed, feeling silly at being so overly emotional. Maybe I was just tired. Or PMSing.
"Can I speak now?" Rosalie asked.
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Well, I think that your mom will always be your mom, regardless if she has a new husband or kid. If you're happy in Forks, then stay here."
"Okay, when you put it that way its so simple."
"Well, its not," Rose countered. "But, it's too fucking early in the morning for this. And if you did decide you wanted to move to Jacksonville, I'd have to hunt you down and drag you back. You're the only fucking sane person I know here. Although, I'm beginning to question that."
O-O
I stopped by the Thriftway on the way home from school. We had plenty of food at the house, but, despite Jacob being able to eat all of us under the table, he is an incredibly picky eater.
I figured I would make something simple, baked macaroni and cheese with baked chicken and broccoli. But I'd make the real stuff, with real cheese and all that, to make it at least look like an effort.
Charlie had called me a little while after I got home, letting me know that he was already in La Push to pick up Jacob and Billy, Sarah had already left earlier. Billy couldn't drive, he had been in a car accident shortly after Jacob had been born, causing him to lose the use of his legs.
I heard the cruiser pulling up in the drive and went to open the front door, Charlie had put out the ramp before he left, making it easier for Billy to wheel up the steps to our house.
"Bella!" Jacob yelled, running to me.
"Hey, buddy!" I greeted him, enthusiastically. Jacobs charm and enthusiasm for life was infectious and he definitely brought life to the Black family. Jacob was the son that Sarah and Billy always wanted. I mean, I know they loved the girls, but Billy always wanted someone to carry on the Black name. Needless to say, when Sarah got pregnant twelve years after she had Rachel and Rebecca, it was a huge, welcome surprise.
"Geez, you're getting tall!" I said, ruffling his hair.
"I know!" Jacob beamed. "I'm the tallest kid in the third grade!"
"Awesome. Are you hungry?"
Jacob nodded. "Good. Dinners just about ready and I'm gonna make chocolate chip cookies for dessert."
Jacobs grin widened and he rushed towards the living room.
"Hey Billy," I said, leaning down to give him a hug.
"Bella, good to see you. Sarah says hi."
One of the things I had come to learn upon moving here, was that after my mom and I left Forks, the Blacks immediately adopted Charlie and took him in as one of their own. Every major holiday since I have lived here was spent together, be it Christmas or Fourth of July.
Hours later and the Mariners game was over and Jacob was struggling to stay awake after he came down from his sugar high. Billy was able to wake him up enough for Jake to give me a half-hearted wave and walk out to the cruiser for the drive back to the reservation.
O-O
The next day at school, I decided to skip Spanish class and head to the library early, effectively avoiding Jessica.
I sat at the large, round table in the back where Edward and the rest usually sat. I felt kind of awkward, just sitting there. What if Edward wasn't the first to get there?
I didn't have too much time to worry about that though, because Victoria and James came walking up, hand in hand. Victoria sat down in the chair next to me, shrugging her canvas tote onto the ground, causing the scent of weed to waft my way.
"Hey, Bella. What's up?"
"Oh, not much. Just hanging out," I shrugged, lamely.
James greeted me with a "what's up" before going to Victoria's bag and pulling out a brown paper bag, dumping the contents out onto the table.
Fruit Roll-Ups, Cheetos and Capri Sun.
James caught me eying the stash and gestured to the food. "Want some?"
"Um...no thanks. I'll pass."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself. More for me!"
The bell rang then and I found myself glancing towards the door every so often. Angela and Ben came in next and by ten minutes into lunch, Edward still was nowhere to be found.
He had said tomorrow...right? Did he chicken out? Decide he didn't want to be friends?
I tried to entertain the conversation going on around me, but just couldn't get into it.
"Is Edward here today?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
Victoria giggled before answering. "Yes he is. At least, he was in Calculus class third period. He's probably just...taking care of business."
I frowned, confused by her answer, but didn't ask her to elaborate.
Fifteen minutes into lunch though, Edward finally came walking in, sitting down in the seat next to me.
"Hey, sorry I'm late." He murmured, giving me a shy smile.
"It's totally cool. Really."
"Oh! Now that everyone's here, I want to invite you over to James' house tomorrow night. The weathers actually supposed to be pretty good. Some freak heat wave, they said on the news. I thought we'd barbecue? You guys in?" Victoria asked.
Everyone nodded their head, saying they'd be there, even Edward. James turned to me. "Bella? You coming? It's okay if you have more exciting plans."
I felt a twinge of guilt. Is that really how they thought of me? I guess I didn't deserve better, especially if Edward had said anything about what happened between us.
"No, I'll be there. Sounds great."
O-O
The next morning before school, I was sitting at the dining room table with Charlie, eating toast, while he drank his coffee and read the paper.
"Hey, Dad?" I said, disrupting the silence. "I'm going out right after school today, is that cool?"
Charlie looked over his paper at me. "Yeah, sure Bells. But its a school night, so just make sure you're home by ten. You're hanging out with Rosalie, Jessica and Lauren?"
I stalled, wondering if I should lie, then mentally scolded myself. I told myself I wasn't going to lie like that anymore.
"No. Actually, uh...I'm going to hang out with some new people," I admitted.
"Oh?" Charlie asked, arching an eyebrow. "You haven't mentioned any new friends. Who are they? Do I need to call parents first?"
I wanted to roll my eyes at him. Never once when I lived with my mom did she inquire about any friends I had. Let alone request to call their parents after I entered middle school.
"No, dad. No parent calling. I'm seventeen. It's going to be Angela, Ben, Victoria and Edward. We're all going to James' house," I explained, hoping he would leave it be.
"Edward? The Cullen boy?"
This time I did roll my eyes. "Yeah, dad. Edward Cullen. It's no big deal. Seriously."
Charlie put down the paper on the table. "Three boys and three girls? This isn't one of those...make-out parties, is it? I know you're almost eighteen, but I don't think that-"
"DAD!" I yelled, feeling my cheeks heat up. "No. Not a make-out party. Geez. We're just hanging out and they're going to make burgers or something."
Charlie held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay. Just wanting to make sure. I trust you."
I nodded my head. "Good. Well, I gotta go to school. Don't forget your lunch. I made a sandwich for you out of last nights leftover chicken."
"Thanks, Bells!" He called after me as I went to the front door, picking up my backpack along the way.
O-O
True to what Victoria said, when I woke up Wednesday morning, the sun was shining brightly through my curtains and when I went outside to my truck, there wasn't the characteristic chill I was used to.
I decided to spend lunch in the cafeteria and hopefully talk to Edward to find out the details of the barbecue after school. Jessica smiled brightly at me when I said I would be eating with them and again I felt bad for ignoring her. After all, Jessica had been my first friend here. So, I didn't say anything or shrug her off when she linked arms with mine and began talking excitedly about Mike.
"Can you believe it, Bella? Mike! Mike Newton! I mean, we've been like...hooking up or whatever. But he likes me! Like actually likes me!" Jessica squealed.
Apparently, yesterday after school Jessica and Mike were hanging out at her house and Mike asked her to be his girlfriend. We'll see how long that lasts.
"It was sooo sweet! He was acting all nervous. He also mentioned prom. Prom! It's only a month away. I need to go dress shopping. Will you come with?"
I nodded, somewhat dazed from all of Jessica's ramblings.
The one thing I didn't realize though, was that with Jess and Mike solidifying their relationship, it meant that Mike and by association, Tyler, would sit at our lunch table, making things a bit awkward.
Instead of there being just awkward conversation, I was completely ignored. Lauren, Jess, Tyler and Mike were lost in their own little bubble, while Rosalie chatted on the phone with Emmett. I sat there, wishing I had gone to hang out at the library. Even though their group consisted of two couples, they always made an effort to talk to everyone, not just their partner.
I was all too grateful when the bell rang.
O-O
Edward was quiet during biology, but gave me a smile when I walked into the classroom, so I knew he couldn't be all that mad.
"Umm...hey." He whispered over to me when Mr. Banner had his back turned, writing on the white board. "Are you still on for today?"
"Yeah, of course." I said, turning to him.
"Good." He was silent for a few moments. "I mean, Victoria will be happy you're coming. Angela too. They missed you at lunch."
"Well...I wouldn't want to disappoint Victoria. Or Angela. To be honest, I missed them too. Lunch sucked. I think Mike and Tyler will be sitting at our table now." I cringed, thinking about their gross displays of public affection with Jess and Lauren.
"Do you need a ride? I drove Angela and Ben to school today and James and Victoria don't drive," Edward offered.
"No. I have my truck with me. Just let me know the address or something and I'll meet you guys there."
Edward tore the corner off a piece of paper in his notebook and scribbled on it, before handing it to me.
"That's their address. The house is kinda set back a ways from the street, so you may miss it."
"Thanks," I smiled and whispered back.
"Ms. Swan? Mr Cullen? Attention up here, please." Several students turned around in their seats to look back at us, causing me to sink down in my seat, stuffing the scrap of paper in my bag.
Yes, I couldn't wait until school was over for the day.
O-O
After school I stopped by house to drop off my backpack and freshen up a bit since the my house was on the way to James'.
I found out that Edward really wasn't lying when he told me James house was hard to find. He lived practically out of the town, in a very rural area where most driveways and streets off the main road were dirt or gravel.
After driving back and forth a couple times, trying to figure out which driveway I should go down, I noticed a crudely painted sign with the address on it that Edward had given me.
The driveway was long and my old truck felt every single one of the bumps in the dirt road.
It was kind of creepy, actually, in a lame horror movie way. The driveway was really long and all around me was tall grass and overgrown weeds. Any second I expected Jason or Freddie to jump out in front of me.
Finally, there was a clearing of half-mowed grass, revealing a house.
I couldn't help but gasp at the sight of it. It was very old, very run down, in desperate need of a fresh coat of pain and a new roof. Complete with a bathtub in the front yard and a half collapsed car port on the side of the house. Edwards Volvo, which was parked in the front of the house looked terribly out of place.
Hopping out of the truck, I waved my hand in front of my face, wafting at the dirt that had been stirred up from my truck. I was unsure if I should knock on the door, but then I heard voices and laughter coming from around the back, so I decided to follow it.
At the back of the house there was a deck, which I wasn't so sure was very sturdy, but everyone was on it, sitting in plastic chairs, in a circle.
Everyone greeted me warmly and Angela pulled up a chair next to hers, so I was sitting between her and Edward.
"Do you want a drink, Bella? There's coke and fruit punch," Angela said, reach back to the icebox behind her.
"Um, coke is fine. Thanks," I said, taking the soda from her.
"This is great," Victoria gushed. "Now that the weathers getting warmer, we can do this more often. Oh! And its great here on Fourth of July, there is an awesome view of the fireworks at Tilicum park."
It was nice, how easily I seemed to get along with everyone and how nice they were. About an hour after I got there, a tall, burly looking man with dirty blond hair came through the back door.
"Hey, kids." He greeted us. "James, I'm back with the food. Why don't you come in and help me out?"
We all said 'hi' back and James got up, following after the man.
"Let me go see if they need help. They're hopeless in the kitchen!" Victoria said, before heading inside.
Angela leaned over to me after they left.
"That's James' dad, Aaron. He's really nice, works as a mechanic," she informed me.
"Oh, what about his mom?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Don't mention her. It's kind of a...tough subject for him. James' mom was an alcoholic and left them when James was three. Never heard from her since."
"Wow, that is tough. Poor James. Thanks for the heads up."
Angela smiled and leaned back in her chair, then turned her attention over to Ben.
"Are you having fun?" I asked, looking over at Edward. Since I had gotten to James', we hadn't really spoken one on one.
"Yeah, it's nice here. Quiet. I mean, I know we live in a small, woodsy town, but its nice to come here and just...relax," he said, emphasizing what he had just said by stretching out in his chair, hands above his head and legs straightened at the knee.
The action caused his shirt to ride up, revealing the elastic band of his Hanes boxers and the light dusting of hair on his lower abdomen.
I basically gawked at the small expanse of exposed skin before snapping myself out it, looking away quickly.
"Yeah, its nice to be closer to nature," I responded, mentally slapping myself for my stupid response.
A couple minutes later, James returned with a bag of charcoal.
"Vickie's getting the meat ready, so I'm going to start the coals," James informed us.
Twenty minutes later, we were all seated around a plastic table. James had cooked hot dogs and burgers and along with that Victoria had made macaroni salad and potato salad.
I found myself paying close attention to what Edward was doing the entire time. I found out that instead of putting ketchup on his burger, he preferred to dip his burger in the ketchup. After some coaxing, he decided to eat a hot dog with mustard.
Apparently, one of the things he missed most about Chicago was the Chicago dog.
"I mean, it's just so much better. There's relish, mustard, onion, pickle, peppers, tomato. It's so good."
I suppressed giggles. One of the only time's I'd ever heard Edward so animated, so talkative and he was talking about hot dogs.
"Someone sure is passionate about their wiener!" Ben commented, earning a slap in the chest from Angela.
Ben's comment of course took my mind back to earlier, when Edward had stretched and boxers. And the hair. And where the hair was leading to and what was underneath his boxers.
My face heated up and I felt really flustered. I never thought about guys like that. Ever. I mean, sure I found guys attractive but I never thought about any below the belt anatomy. And yes, I have had...urges and have taken care of those urges, never really thought about...that.
Or when I have, I've never thought about it with as much detail as I currently was. Or about a person I actually knew. In all likelihood, I was never going to meet those nameless men I saw on billboards in Phoenix.
After we ate and cleaned up, the air started to cool. We dragged our chairs out onto the grass, where there was a fire pit dug out of the dirt. Once the fire was lit, James' dad, or Aro, as he instructed me to call him, came out with skewers and a bag of marshmallows.
Around nine and two bags of marshmallows later, most of which ended up a sticky, blackened mass, I stood up, yawning.
"I think I should get going. I still have some Spanish homework to do," I said.
Angela pulled out her phone, checking the time. "Oh, me too. Thanks for having us, James. It was really fun."
I turned to James and Victoria.
"Yeah, I had an awesome time. We should do it again soon," I surprised myself by saying.
Victoria smiled widely. "Yes! I'll see you guys at school tomorrow. I'm going to stay here a little while longer, then Aro can drive me home."
We all said our goodbyes to Victoria and James, then went around the house to where we were parked.
Ben and Angela got in the car as soon the lights flashed, indicating it had been unlocked, leaving Edward and I standing awkwardly by the end of our cars.
It was dark out and the light coming from the front porch barely illuminated everything in the night.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?" It came out more as a question. Of course he was going to see me tomorrow. We had school tomorrow and he sat next to me in biology!
"Yeah, I'll be at school," Edward confirmed.
"Okay, awesome," I rocked back on my heels. "I'll be in the library at lunch."
Edwards face brightened slightly, before returning to his normal, calm demeanor. "That's cool. So I'll see you."
Then, he surprised me by taking a step forward. I thought he was going to hug me, but then he froze and reached out, patting me awkwardly on the shoulder before turning and getting in his car.
I stood there, watching as he backed out and waved back when Angela rolled down the window to yell out to me, "Bye Bella! See you tomorrow!"
I mindlessly got in my truck and started up the engine, letting it warm up a big before driving home. Charlie was fast asleep on the couch, snoring, with the television still on. I grabbed the throw from over the back of the couch, covered him, kissed his cheek lightly, turned off the television and went upstairs.
I suddenly felt exhausted and went to the bathroom, going through my nightly routine and changing into well worn flannel pajamas.
Only then did I allow myself to think about the events of the last few hours, down to Edward and my awkward goodbye.
What the hell was that about?
Hey! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! Review get teasers. Also, I'm considering having someone pre-read before I post. If you're interested, let me know. Follow me on twitter (happymess89) I post teasers there too.