Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or anything else in here, really. If you think so, I'm flattered, but I still own nothing.
A/N: Thank you all so much for the support with this story. It means the world to me.
Chapter Twelve
"Have you guys seen the pictures from the concert last night yet?" Alice asks the next morning over breakfast in Rose and Emmett's hotel room.
Edward finishes his bite of pancake, the hand resting on my thigh rubbing circles into my flesh. I wasn't sure if it was meant to rile me up or calm me down, he was somehow managing to do both. "I'm guessing we should have?"
Alice nods, handing Edward her phone. I lean into him as he swipes through her photos, full of screenshots of articles she found online. They were all from last night, little snippets from the far side of the stage where you could see just a little bit behind the stage wall, where I stood during the concert. There was speculation on who I was, what I meant to the singer. Some articles pointed out Edward singing to the back of the stage, and comments from readers build up a love story, ranging from fan to lover, or worker to lover, or friend to lover. Some were far off, others were close enough to the truth.
"This just goes to show that Edward has the support of his fans to be with whoever he wants," Rose says. "James was just using that as an excuse to have more control. Edward, you could say you are dating Bella in the interview, and you'd have a world full of support."
"James texted me during the concert last night," Edward shares, his voice low. "He doesn't want me to mention Bella is a friend, because fans will then be rooting for us to get together."
Carmen turns towards Edward, her brows furrowed. "I thought he didn't want the public to know you were involved with her because you'd lose fans?"
"That's what he told me before tour," Edward tells her, his eyes back on his phone. "I don't know what his endgame is anymore."
"So what are you going to do?" Rose asks Edward, her voice soft, patient.
Edward looks at me, his emerald eyes glancing between my brown ones as he thinks of what to do. When he speaks, it's directly to me, though the others around us were listening intently. "We decided to keep our relationship a secret to prevent James from breaking up the band- but he did that already when he fired Rosalie."
"James will throw a fit," I say, looking around at the band members.
"It would be worth it," Edward's soft voice makes me turn to look at him, my eyes wide with shock. He sounds so sad, but his face is full of determination. "We wouldn't have to hide anymore. Yeah, James would be pissed, but what can he do so close to the end of tour? He's already being a pain in the ass. And I don't plan on writing anymore songs while under his contract, so it won't matter if he fully breaks up the band."
"You have so many recording studios that want you, if the studio we're with drops you at the end of the contract," Kate adds, "you could ask for every member back and they'd happily do it. You know you've got the support of your fans now. They'd follow you."
Edward turns to me. "It's up to you, Bella. I'm okay with it, but you're going to be thrust into the spotlight if we do this."
I nod. I knew my life wouldn't remain private dating Edward. "It's either now or later," I say, shrugging.
Emmett picks this time to make a joke. "So… Edward and Bella are coming out of the closet tonight?"
His comment earns him a not-so-gentle smack on the back of his head from Rose, who rolls her eyes at his childish behavior.
After breakfast and a quick round of Mario Cart- where I lose so spectacularly that Emmett is nearly crying with laughter- Alice takes Edward into our room to get ready for the interview. I had entertained the idea of going, but I feared that I would be asked to join in as soon as Edward outed us.
There was also a strong possibility that James will be present to make sure Edward follows his rules.
Kate leaves with Edward, and Garrett goes with them. Edward texts me an I love you so much just before the interview is set to start. Emmett gets me to play another round of racing on his game console, and I actually manage to win one race by accidentally hitting my boost button and careening into Emmett's character just before the finish line. Jasper pulls out his guitar, the room filling with music and his soft voice half saying, half singing lines of a song he and Edward had been working on for months and were trying to perfect.
I try to keep my mind off the interview as half an hour passes, and then another. As the second hour passes, I can't help getting antsy. Carmen plops down on the couch beside me, one of her hands settling comfortingly over my knee. "Do they always take this long?" I finally ask the question I'd been asking myself for the last forty minutes.
"It depends entirely on the interviewer," Carmen says. "And Edward dropped an unexpected relationship bomb today, so they'll have more questions to ask than their preplanned ones."
"And then they have to discuss what questions and answers they'll actually use in the published interview," Rose adds.
Emmett snuggles up against his girlfriend. "Don't forget that James is probably there as well, so they'll have to deal with calming him back down, and I'm sure that will take an hour at least."
I sigh, leaning forward to bury my face in my palms. I have witnessed several Bella-induced tantrums at this point. "I should have gone with him."
"Bella-" Emmett starts.
"I shouldn't have let him deal with this all on his own," I interrupt. "I practically threw him in the wolves' den!"
"It's not that bad," Rosalie sighs, and I can practically hear her eyes rolling. "He's used to these interviews. He's used to James. Don't feel bad about letting him do something he volunteered to do."
"Kid's got this," Eleazar adds.
Just then, the hotel door opens, and Kate and Edward walk through. His hair looks like he's been running his hands through it repeatedly. He sighs heavily as he walks further into the room to allow Garrett through the door.
"How'd it go?" Alice asks.
Kate heads into the kitchen, ducking into the fridge and pulling out a bottle of wine, pouring herself a large glass.
"About as well as you'd expect," Edward mumbles. "The band is over after the tour. You're all fired for supporting Bella and I, apparently."
"Well," Emmett sighs. "We figured that was going to happen."
"He said Edward's screwed up some sort of plan of his," Kate says, and a chill runs down my spine. "Who knows what he was trying to do."