CHAPTER SEVEN – A Poem and a Song.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. I do own a box of crayola crayons. They make me feel like I'm 5 again.

- I suggest you load www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=erspkBDsTm0 and when the good part comes up (you'll know when, trust me), play the song. :) -

AN at the bottom. Enjoy.

BPOV

I dropped my keys down along with my bag somewhere on the kitchen counter. It was late. I was buzzed. The few beers I'd downed slowly took effect on me and my body tingled and shivered at the cold air.

"I'll go change, Edward. Make yourself at home."

I clicked on a few lights on my path to my bedroom, illuminating my small apartment in a warm, orange glow. I slipped out of my jacket and blouse and changed into a loose shirt and shorts. My toes ached as they were released from the confines of my ankle boots and the floor felt cold under my bare feet.

I found Edward lurking through my collection of CDs that I had hanging up on the wall. I made no motion to alert him of my presence, choosing to watch quietly as his lips pursed and his fingers nimbly touching the spines of the CDs, head tilted to the side as he was reading.

"Are you going to stand there all night?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. "I was planning to."

Smiling, I walked up next to him while he kept looking through the stacks. His fingers would occasionally pause as he found a CD he also liked and the corners of his lips would curve up into a small smile. We stood there, shoulder to shoulder. When his fingers reached the end of the stack, his head turned to the rest of the apartment. I was slightly embarrassed at how cluttered my belongings were, but at that moment, I simply didn't care.

Maybe it was the small buzz running through me, the liquor's fault. Maybe it was just him. His close proximity creating the small electric currents in the air, lightly tickling my skin as it tread over it. I just knew that at that moment, I felt safe. At home.

The silence was comforting. It wasn't one of those dull silences when you got to worry about being so alone. His presence was comforting to me, and the silence was welcomed.

He moved over to my bookshelf after he went through my CDs. I took it as a sign that his analyzing was going to take a while, so I sat down on my couch, resting both my feet on the coffee table.

Edward turned around to face me, smiling as he finished.

"Did I pass your test?"

"Your music? Yes. Your books? Not quite."

I knew this was coming. We were having this argument again; I smiled, up for the challenge.

"Why?"

He smirked as he continued. "Feminist."

"Chauvinist."

The argument was settled. Here we were. Tit for tat. So different, yet so much the same. To a point where even our arguments settled at a tie.

He plopped down on my couch with a mock frown on his face, his small smile unsuccessfully hidden.

"So… What do you want to do?"

He turned to me, a look of confusion on his face.

"Hey, never said I was interesting. If you weren't here, I'd be reading… or doing something equally as boring."

He looked around my small apartment again. "You're most definitely not boring. I mean, look around. Your entire apartment is you."

It was my turn to look confused. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Well, the walls are a warm color – you're a warm person. The eccentric collection CDs and books clearly told me more about you than you ever could possibly manage to. Your entire apartment is a cluttered, organized mess. You clearly spend time in the kitchen; it's fully stocked with appliances and that sort of thing… The guitar in the corner isn't yours, but you probably fiddled with it at some point. I can go on all night, Bella."

I coughed, suddenly nervous and baffled. "Wh—How in the world did you find out about the guitar?"

He smiled at me, all knowing. "I was correct, huh?"

"Yeah, but nobody knows about that thing. A friend from high school left it at my old house when I lived with my dad. I decided to take it with me here. I can play a few chords, nothing big. Just the result of complete boredom and the lack of life."

He laughed at my words. He pushed himself up with both hands and grabbed the guitar, picking it up with him as he walked back over to plop back down on the couch.

"It's gathering dust. The guitar isn't getting enough love from you, Bella."

I giggled like nuts. Maybe it was still the liquor buzz. But I was feeling undeniably happy and content. More than I'd been in a long time.

He strummed a few chords on it, his fingers flying across the fret board gracefully.

"Your song, it was beautiful. You were really good, Edward."

I might have been mistaken but did the boy… blush? A small pink tinge covered his cheeks. He didn't take his eyes off of the guitar as he spoke. "To be quite honest, I was thinking of not performing at all tonight. When I saw you, I… I was worried that you wouldn't like my music or whatever…"

"Are you kidding me? Hey, you went through my CD collection. Your songs would blend in beautifully if it were trapped in there somewhere."

"Yeah I know, it's silly… For all I knew, you might've been a fan of Lady Gaga and… Pink. I couldn't help but to worry."

I pursed my lips together, trying to contain another round of giggles.

"Don't."

We sat there as he kept playing the guitar for a while. We didn't speak. Silence spoke for us.

"I used to sing, a little, in high school. That and a few chords on the guitar. The extent of my musical ability."

He smiled, looking up at me. His fingers stopped strumming and I could almost hear the gears in his head clicking into place.

"No. No way. I've never even told anyone that before."

His eyebrows wiggled at me, lips tucked to avoid smiling. Again, unsuccessfully.

"Come on, Bella. One song."

I gulped as his eyes twinkled. Like we were stuck in some awkward Japanese cartoon. Saying no was obviously inevitable at this point.

"Fine. One song and you'll tell me something about you."

He got up from the couch so quickly, my hazed mind swerved. I looked down to see the old guitar in my lap and Edward was already carrying his own back to the couch.

I picked up the guitar, the instrument feeling strange in my hands, but correct all the same.

"What song?"

"The chords I was playing, I was writing something. Do you have pen and paper lying around somewhere? I need to jot it down before I forget."

Well of course, only Edward could look so nonchalant when he was actually writing a song. I reached over and grabbed a pen and a stray piece of paper I tore out my notebook this morning, passing it over to Edward.

"There's something written on here…" he looked doubtful when he looked it over.

"The back's a clean page," I cleared my throat. "I wrote that a few nights ago when I couldn't sleep. It's a mess, don't read it."

He turned to look at me as if I was insane.

"Bella, this isn't a mess… We can use this."

I raised my eyebrows at him in doubt.

"No seriously. We'll turn these into the lyrics… This is amazing."

My mouth hung open, I had no words. I chewed on my bottom lip before I agreed.

What? He did the twinkly eyes thing again!

"Edward, I scrapped it for a reason… Nobody's really read anything I've ever written and anyways, it's not all that great."

"No?" I shook my head, trying my best to convince him.

"Well, if this isn't your greatest work, it already has me amazed. I could never write something as poetic as this, Bella." He was already excited. He barely looked at me when he spoke; too busy writing down the chords in between the words I scribbled down.

"I'm not going to sing the whole thing, okay? Just the one section." I pointed at a stanza on the page. That's the extent of my deal."

"But Bella…"

"I wrote the poem from a dude's point of view, except for that one part. It'll be completely awkward for me to rant on about a chick."

He agreed with a silent nod.

I sat back while he scribbled down chord letters above specific lines. He turned at me when he was done with the first stanza.

"Can you play these chords?"

"Yeah… I'm not that bad."

He smiled at me. "I never said you were."

He tapped on the body of his guitar, signaling a start beat.

We played the three opening chords, I couldn't wipe the near permanent smile on my face. And then he sang.

He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes.

My breath caught in my throat as I tried to focus on the chords.

Started making his way past 2 in the morning

I squinted for a moment, trying to figure out the next chord from his small scribble.

He hasn't been sober for days.

"Perfect."

I stuck my tongue in the inside of my cheek, making a part of it swell up like a bee sting. When Edward looked up at me, I crossed my eyes, making him laugh at my ridiculous antics. I was being insane, obviously. I was slowly sobering up but my incessant smiling didn't stop.

He spent a few more minutes writing down the chords to the next few stanzas as I sat back and let my fingers trail over the fret boards, not strumming. The steel strings would squeak lightly as I moved my fingers and for a moment, the sounds of pencil over paper and string squeaks were the only noise in the apartment.

Edward looked up at me when he was done penciling in the chords. We played for a bit, the rest of the song. I sang a few small lines an octave higher to accompany him. Time flew by as he taught me several new chords; laughter ensued when it took me a while to learn a chord. Before I realized it, it was my turn.

My turn…

I played the chords a few times over, trying to pick a melody that fits. Edward didn't push me; he simply sat back and waited for my nod.

I reluctantly nodded at him a few moments later, signaling that I was ready to sing it. I memorized the small melody line in my mind. I pushed the guitar away and Edward immediately understood that he was playing the chords of this part alone. I wasn't going to manage playing and singing at the same time.

He waited for me to sing the first word and then joined in with the chords. I kept my eyes closed as I sang, Edward taking cues from me to change chords.

I'm not coming back

I've done something so terrible

I'm terrified to speak

But you'd expect that from me

I took a breath as I continued.

I messed up

I'll be blunt now the rain is just

Washing you out of my hair

I opened my eyes at this point, feeling confident, the highest notes were to be hit and I sucked a quick breath into my stomach.

And out of my mind

Keeping an eye on the world

I looked at Edward as he looked at me. Our eyes didn't part gazes. He held mine as I held his.

So many thousands of feet off the ground

I'm over you now; I'm at home in the clouds

And towering over your head.

I exhaled as I finished, closing my eyes again, waiting for Edward's words.

His words didn't break the silence. His applause did. I opened an eye first, my nose scrunching up in distaste. I saw him clapping and yelling and cheering, mimicking the noise from a crowd.

"Alright, hold the applause. Keep your end of the deal, Cullen."

He looked at me in disagreement. "Can't we finish writing the rest of the song first? There's still a few lines left…"

I shook my head, "nuh-uh. There's no shoving your way out of this. We'll finish writing the song later."

"Do you promise?" He held out his pinky, expression completely serious. I would've laughed but that might upset him. Sober? Yes. I linked my pinky through his but giggled anyway. He joined me, chuckling as he let go of my pinky.

I placed the guitar on the carpet at the foot of the coffee table and Edward placed his next to mine. The curved body of the guitars fit perfectly next to each other, creating a yinyang type shape. Tit for tat.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Hey, I asked you once already. Biggest, baddest secrets, Edward."

He cringed. "You didn't forget."

"Heck no," I leaned back into the cushion of the couch, legs crossed under me. Edward in turn decided to hoist up both his legs on the couch, stretching them over so that his socks covered feet met both my shins.

Tit for tat.

He took a while before answering, "I can't, Bella. Not yet."

I nodded. I understood. The air was still full of electricity but it hung heavily around us.

"Any less difficult questions, Bella?" He chuckled as the words left his lips.

I smiled, the heavy air was cleared around us and again, only electricity was left, lingering on my skin.

"Of course. Um, your tattoos? Show me."

He smiled, "that's more like it."

He turned over his right arm, showing me a cursive tattoo on his wrist. But before I got the chance to look, he turned his arm, turning away the tattoo from my view.

"Wait, before I explain… How'd you know I have more than one?"

I cringed before continuing, "a question for another day."

"Nice segue." He laughed.

"I know. Now stop distracting me." My expression accusing as he doubled over in laughter. He took a moment to regain focus and started explaining, turning over his arm again. He shifted in his seat, turning his wrist around for me to read. The tattoo spread all over the inside of his arm.

Nothing is worth more than this day.

"My college roommate committed suicide. I got this on his birthday that same year."

I nodded, "It's pretty."

He laughed at me. I looked at him, questioning. "What?"

"Bella, I show you a tattoo and you ay 'it's pretty'? Does something to a man's ego, that's for sure."

I joined in with him in laughter. "Well, what did you expect?"

I struggled for breath as we doubled over again, reeling in laughs. When one of us would pause to take a breath, the other would giggle uncontrollably, triggering another set of laughs.

We finally regained composure; my stomach was in pain and a few stray tears formed at the corners of my eyes.

We sat back on my couch, trying to catch our breaths.

"Bella, it's nearly 4 in the morning."

"Holy crap." He was right. The clock in my kitchen never lied.

Exhaling, Edward got up. "I should go…"

I wanted to do what people in movies did. Tell the guy to stay over at her place because she didn't feel comfortable with him driving at night. But then again, he lived upstairs.

I nodded, reluctant.

"You promised we would finish that song, Bella."

I smiled, "that I did."

I sat in my spot on the couch as I watched him pack his black guitar back into its case. When he was done, he looked back at me and I stood up from the couch.

The door was partially open, his hand resting on the handle at the other side.

"Goodnight, Edward."

"Sweet dreams, Bella." I stayed in my doorway as Edward fiddled awkwardly, waiting for the elevator. When it dinged, he gave me a slight wave and I waved back, a near permanent smile etched on my face. When the metal doors closed, so did mine. I had my back against the door, staring at the wall in front of me. I was grinning so badly, it hurt.

This was the most fun I'd had in a long time, and a part of myself was thoroughly scared. A smaller part of me told the larger part of me to shut up, and enjoy life. What Ben and I had might not be real to him but for the most part, it was real for me. And yet, I was so much more myself with Edward than I could possibly be to Ben. What Edward and I have, I valued so much more already than what I share with Ben. I knew for a fact that what Ben and I had wasn't mutual but with Edward…

Scary territory, Bella. Back off.

I pushed the thoughts far deep into my brain and ignored it for now. I probably shouldn't have but I did. And boy, did it feel great. I then proceeded to push my back off from the door and crawled into my bed. The sheets felt cold but soft on my skin and I sighed in contentment as I sank deeper into it, eventually falling asleep.

Nothing is worth more than this day.

AN: This is my longest chapter, yay! I hope you like the abundance of E/B togetherness in this chapter..

The plan was to switch to EPOV somewhere in there, but Bella got wordy and he never got the chance. A round of thank you's to everyone who's read and lurked, read and reviewed, read and added… If you do lurk, please make your presence known. A fic recommendation somewhere here and there (cough lionlamb cough) would be nice

RosAlice22, you're my motivation and most certainly, friendliest reader. Let's hope we can msn chat again soon!

I'm back from my exam hiatus, and I'm back for good. I'll be writing all summer! yay me.

So please review, it'll help me get the next chapter to you faster. I don't mind if you're an anonymous reviewer, just leave me an e-mail address to reply to. Let me know what you thought of the chapter, and the little parts I put in there

Reviews are better than co-writing songs with Edward. Leave one!

Next posting: sometime in the next 2 weeks, I promise.