Disclaimer: I'm not SMeyer. I don't know how to prove that to you and I don't feel like coming up with anything right now. Let's just say that I don't own Twilight.

Chapter 23

Edward and Jasper both strived to get over their anger and frustration and, although they were still somewhat awkward around each other, they got along just fine, if only for Bella's sake. In fact, currently, taking advantage of her having to go home straight after school on weekends, the rest of the group had gotten together at the Cullens' to plan her surprise birthday party for that weekend. It had worked out nicely enough that year that her birthday was on a Friday and so she got to spend all of it and the following days with her friends.

So, wait, are we taking her out before or after? Edward asked, having gotten lost somewhere along the way. Each one of them wanted to do something special for Bella and so they were organizing an entire weekend for her to enjoy. The problem was coordinating it all.

I think the current plan is lunch, then Build-a-Bear, then your place, then sleepover at ours, then on Saturday we go to Seattle for the zoo and, finally, your museum, Jasper listed, signing as well as speaking out loud for Emmett and Rosalie's benefit.

Each of them had organized a different activity; Rosalie was treating them all to lunch, Emmett was treating her to a Build-a-Bear bear, Alice was throwing her a party at their home, then the next day they were going to Seattle where Jasper was taking her to the zoo and Edward was taking her to see a Van Gogh exhibition. Overall, she had a remarkable weekend to look forward to and they all hoped she would enjoy herself. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper in particular; this was her last birthday with them.

And you're sure her father will not want for her to spend her birthday with him? Edward asked tentatively. Alice placed her hand on his shoulder, though, and shook her head in way of an answer; she already felt as if she had a deeper insight into the situation, and what she saw was far more serious than what her brother seemed to think.

Jasper's eyes met Alice's and they smiled at each other. Lately they had been spending more and more time together, particularly at lunch, when Bella and Edward seemed to forget all else in the world and focus merely on each other. At first, Jasper had been bothered; he felt as if Bella were ignoring him. However, as he had promised her, he allowed her to act as she pleased and he treated her as an equal, not a child. Alice, who had noticed his unease, had used it to her advantage, getting closer to him under the guise of helpfully distracting him.

Without any of their friends' knowledge, the two had a plan to meet up for coffee that Sunday; if it went well, they would tell the others. If not, they would simply return to being friends. Alice did not agree with this procedure; she was absolutely confident that they were going to work out and she complained that Jasper was just making her wait. Furthermore, she felt incredibly hypocritical, calling Edward out on keeping secrets at the same time as she had one of her own. If he confronted her about it, she knew she would crack.

At the same time, she had figured much of Bella's story out, or she at least believed she had, and she felt guilty about keeping that from Edward. Should she tell him her suspicions, even though she did not know it for sure and it was not her secret to tell? She hated keeping such large secrets, but it seemed she had no choice, since neither secret was hers alone. She groaned, calling Jasper's attention to her.

"You OK?" he asked, concerned but somewhat amused by her frustrated sound, as he pulled her aside, taking advantage of the conversation's having lulled.

"Yea, just thinking."

"You look much too frustrated to be merely thinking. What exactly are you thinking about?" he asked, trying to be tactful.

"You. And Edward. and Bella."

"That's…" Jasper hesitated. "That's quite a long list. Do you want to talk about it? Any one specific you want to talk about?"

Alice watched him carefully, trying to figure out if he meant that or if he would shut down if she asked about something he did not want to talk about.

"Maybe. If you're willing to actually talk about it. Will you tell me the truth?"

Jasper looked taken aback and he averted his eyes for a few seconds, thinking about it. Finally, he met Alice's eyes once more, a new strength in them.

"I will strive to help you and tell you the truth. I will not tell you anything Bella has told me in confidence, though."

"How about if I ask a yes or no question? Will you answer then?" she asked pryingly.

"Well…I will. If you actually believe it, OK? Don't take wild guesses."

Alice rolled her eyes and nodded.

"I wouldn't do that, Jasper. But I wouldn't be wrong if I asked, anyway. You can ask Edward; I am never wrong," she replied cheerfully, emphasizing 'never.' Jasper rolled her eyes and she, unbothered, leaned up and poked his nose quickly before winking and skipping back towards the larger group. Jasper remained behind, watching her pensively for a few minutes, before finally returning to the group.

As it often did, school dragged by slowly that week, in particular for the five friends who were so looking forward to the weekend. Bella, however, remained aloof, going about her week normally. Her routine lately consisted of going to school in the morning, enjoying her time with her friends, Edward in particular, then returning home, making dinner, and retiring to her room. She interacted little with James, if at all, and she was relatively happy. She was her happiest, however, at lunch time, when she could forget her worries and lose herself in Edward's witty conversation, cheerful jokes, and playful banter. She was torn from her musings by Jasper's arrival by her side.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Edward lately," Jasper remarked, bumping her shoulder with his. "How's that going?"

Bella looked around; they were in the cafeteria, simply waiting for the rest of their friends to arrive, and she felt a sort of shame speaking of such matters—at which she had always laughed, thinking only silly teen girls with nothing better to do worried about boys. However, lately, she had found that speaking about Edward and her interactions with him made her feel giddy and happy all over.

The fact that Jasper had asked her about it so easily also helped the matter, since it proved that he was finally accepting her less-than-childish feelings towards Edward. Because she could no longer lie to herself; she liked Edward as more than a friend. She felt somewhat guilty—again, she felt like one of those silly, giggly girls at whom she had always laughed—, feeling as if she were objectifying Edward. After all, she had known him for just about a month; how could she possibly like him in a deep, personal way in that short a time? Logically speaking, her attraction to him should be merely superficial. Yet that was not what she really felt at all.

Jasper, reading the conflicted look on her face and realizing that with every passing second Edward was more likely to finally show up at the cafeteria table, brought her out of her inner monologue.

"Bella, stop thinking and take a deep breath. Now, tell me what you feel about Edward. Does he make you happy? Sad? Melancholy?"

Bella hesitated for a few seconds before answering, still not sounding quite sure of herself.

"Well, he makes me feel important, what with the way he pays attention to my every word and remembers them. And, when he smiles, it makes me want to smile as well. Oh, and when he helps me up when I trip or when he hands me something, I feel his hands on me for a long time afterwards."

She looked as if she could continue for hours, but Jasper cut her off, having finally seen Edward and Alice come into the cafeteria.

"So, all good things, right? No bad?" he asked hurriedly. Bella smiled and shook her head. "Good, then just keep on being happy and don't over think it. Just enjoy yourself, Bella."

She looked dubious, as if she did not quite know what to make of Jasper's words, but when she finally caught sight of Edward her smile widened and she sat up a bit more straight, turning on her seat so she had one leg on each side of the bench; they had changed their seating arrangements lately so that Jasper and Alice sat together, on the same bench as Emmett and Rosalie, and Edward and Bella sat together, across the table from them.

Hey, guys! Alice signed happily, sitting down by Jasper gracefully. Her outfit, made up entirely of burnt oranges, reds, and dark browns, reminded Bella of a fluttering leaf, and she giggled.

What is it? Edward asked as he sat down next to her. When he had finished asking, he squeezed her shoulder gently, a habit they had picked up to reassure each other of their moods. They had learned that there were times when they did not feel like talking at all. To avoid any possible conflicts, they had come up with their system, through which they would squeeze each other's shoulder if everything was alright but squeeze the other's hand if things were not right. The more personal connection symbolizing bad mood had been Bella's idea; she argued that she would like to be reassured that, despite their anger or moodiness, they were still friends. A more personal touch would serve to remind the other of that.

Nothing, just Alice's outfit. She reminds me of the fall.

Edward turned to look at Alice and smiled before nodding.

Yes, I can see that. He reached down for his bag and took out his lunch, setting it next to Bella's. Anyway, how are you?

They had just seen each other fifteen minutes ago, in art class, but this was different. In art class, they shared each other with the rest of the group, the teacher, and the work. In the cafeteria, though, at the table, they devoted themselves to each other; the table separating them from the rest of the group seemed to be a physical representation of it. Nobody in the group seemed to mind too much; Alice was happy for her brother and Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett were delighted to see Bella so happy.

I'm just fine, Bella signed as she chewed part of her sandwich. However, I'm so not looking forward to that test in Biology next period.

That sounds yucky, Edward signed, but it was obvious to Bella that he did not really believe that. To him, whose teacher treated him as a five-year-old, a Biology test probably sounded wonderful. Bella felt guilty for upsetting him, but Edward did not let her dwell on it. You'll just have to tell me about it in P.E. Or, maybe we could hang out today after school? He looked eager. I know you said you can't really go out on weekdays, but maybe you can make an exception? We can just hang out, maybe go to the diner to have some junk food. What do you think?

Bella bit her lip and fiddled with her water bottle to gain herself some time. When it became obvious that she had to answer, she set the bottle down and wrung her hands before finally answering.

You know I'd love to. But I really can't. James wouldn't like for me to be home late.

Edward nodded tensely; he was beginning to grow a sore spot about Bella's devotion to her father. He felt as if she were always turning him down to go spend time with her father. For a girl who claimed to not get along with her father, she spent a remarkable amount of time making him happy.

Alright. But you'll be mine and mine alone, soon, he promised, I want to talk with you calmly, for more than a half hour, he paused here and looked over the table at Jasper, who was watching them conspicuously, without your brother watching my every word.

My, my, Edward, Bella signed, a melodramatic scandalized expression on her face, do you mean to tell me something inappropriate, not adequate for my sensible brother's ears?

When do I ever say something appropriate? Edward asked teasingly. He smiled reassuringly, then, and leaned a bit closer to Bella, his eyes theatrically wide and his signs very large, meant to catch Jasper's attention purposefully; however, I must admit, Jasper intimidates me. He is always watching us, like a vulture!

Both of them broke out in laughter while Jasper pouted on his side of the table. Rose and Emmett looked on in confusion before Rosalie decided that, whatever it was, was probably more than they wanted to know. Emmett turned back to his conversation with her somewhat dejectedly, looking over at Edward and Bella every once in a while, as if trying to figure out what the big joke was.

We have all weekend to spend together, though, Bella pointed out, now back to their conversation. And I will try to make some room to hang out after school next week, OK?

Edward sighed dramatically and nodded, making a show off it despite his feeling like a petulant child. Was he pushing Bella too much? He liked her, and he thought that much was obvious to the general public, yet he was not sure how Bella was taking it, nor was he able to interpret what he was sure were signals she was dropping for him. He had grown to rely on Alice too much when communicating with Hearing people; ASL required a great ability to show emotions on one's face and, although Bella obviously tried and she could not hide her more superficial emotions well at all, there were certain things that she seemed to be so used to keeping secret, and, whenever she spoke of anything about them, her face went blank. Edward found it so frustrating that, where he could usually read everybody easily, Bella could block him so mindlessly, without even seeming to notice it. He made a note to talk about it to Alice.

It's your birthday this Friday, isn't it? He finally asked, deciding that a change in topic was necessary. How cool is that? You won't be the baby of the group anymore.

Don't remind me. I hate birthdays, she answered, looking truly annoyed. Edward was shocked. Jasper had warned her that Bella disliked birthday celebrations, but this seemed somewhat extreme.

How can you hate birthdays? Come on, Bella, don't be a party-pooper. How about the cake, and the friends, and the presents? That's all lots of fun!

But Bella would hear none of it; she crossed her arms over her chest, pouted her lower lip, and looked away from Edward, ignoring him. After a few seconds, Edward grew tired of being ignored, and he leaned over, poking her very precisely on the side of her belly. Bella jumped half a foot in the air, squeaking, before turning around and beginning to beat Edward jokingly. When they tired of their jest, Bella sat back down and leaned on Edward, allowing the steady lull of his breathing to relax her until the end of their lunch period. Edward massaged her arms slowly and gently, resting his chin atop her head, gaining comfort merely from each other's presence.

Author's Note—so, sorry there was no update yesterday (and I apologize about the ending of this one….even I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to say; I'm falling somewhat asleep as I write). I'm Chief of Props for our play and I'm having some issues…and we open in a week! So, I'm somewhat stressed and rehearsals are running late (until 6:30), and writing is getting pushed back a bit. And I apologize for that. Anyway, as always, feel free to comment on the good or the bad and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Thanks To:

Hollywood Girl

Sammy73

Mrs. Dom Masbolle

Gothgirl1245

FRK921

Sweetiedolphin

Ceara1888

FirstLaugh-LastTears—yay! Welcome!

A. Fire. In. The. Attic.

Bemyescape32

Special Thanks To:

TeamASHLAN—as always, you deserve an amazing response to an amazing review, but I am remarkably tired right now…so I hope you don't mind if I PM my reply or answer to your comments in tomorrow's chapter. OK? However, just to let it be known, I (as I tend to do…) really enjoyed your reviews. You give me insights into my characters that I didn't even know existed! So, thanks. And we'll talk more tomorrow.