Song: "Breathe (2 AM)" by "Anna Nalick"

Disclaimer: Twilight doesn't belong to me. If it did I'd be too busy to write fan fiction.

"So…" Emmett began. "You've gone Canadian?"

We were all sitting in the family room around the coffee table. For the first time in so many years, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I was positively glowing with happiness. Nothing could ruin my mood.

"Yes, Emmett," I answered. "I'm actually a Canadian citizen."

"Why is that?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "Better health care, less people, cleaner…I just like it better."

"But aren't you drowning in taxes or something?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. You'd be surprised that a lot of what we grew up learning about Canada is actually not really true."

Emmett scoffed. "Yeah right."

"Seriously, Emmett. I've never seen a moose there, and no one ever says 'eh'. Well, except for the people from the Middle East who say it because they think it is required. Can you name any of the provinces?" I asked.

"Provinces?" he asked.

I shook my head. "See? Exactly my point. Did you know Canadians can name all the states in America and most Americans can name hardly any of the provinces?"

"I guess they're all American wannabe's," he said with a shrug. I smiled and shook my head. Emmett was exactly like I had remembered him.

"Do you have anyone special?" Esme asked quietly. I looked into her eyes, and I could see pity. I got one of those gut feelings that told me Esme knew more about Edward and I than I had thought, but I pushed it aside for the moment.

"No, not really. I'm just focusing on work and friends right now. Plus, I haven't really met anyone lately who I've been interested in."

Esme nodded and gave me a small smile.

Emmett whistled. "That kind of makes you a loser, Bella," Emmett teased. Esme smacked him lightly, but I smiled.

"Do you have anyone special Emmett?" I asked.

"Nope!" he said, popping the P. "But that doesn't mean I haven't gotten any for a long time either."

"Emmett!" Esme hissed. She shook her head. "Sometimes I worry I didn't drill the importance of treating woman right into your head enough when you were younger."

"Its okay, Esme," I said before looking back at Emmett. "And did I ever say I wasn't getting any?" I asked him with a wink.

Emmett's eyes lit up. "Alright, Bella!" he cheered. I laughed and everyone joined in. It was good to be home.

"Hey, do you want to see pictures of my roommates?" I asked.

"Sure," Carlisle said. I pulled out a picture of Rose, Jazz and I at a Christmas craft fair last year. The Cullens crowded around me.

"That's Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They're cousins."

"Holy shit!" Emmett yelled. "She's hot!"

"No," Alice argued. "He's hot!"

I laughed.

We talked all night until eleven o'clock, at which point Esme led me to the room I would be staying in. I made a small noise of shock when I realized that it was Edward's old room.

"I hope you don't mind staying in here," Esme said quietly.

"Of course I won't," I lied poorly. "What would make you think that?"

Esme sighed and gave me a look of pity and compassion. "I know what happened to you two," she said sadly. "I know you loved him."

I gasped before I could help myself.

"H—how?" I managed to stutter out.

Esme smiled slightly. "Oh sweetie, I could see it on your face every time you looked at him."

"Hm," I muttered, unhappy that my feelings had been so apparent. "Edward never saw, did he?"

She shook her head sadly. "No, he never did. I always wished he had though."

I started. "Um…why?"

She sighed. "You two would have been perfect together. Alice thought so too."

"Did Alice see something?" I asked.

Esme hesitated before answering. "No."

"Did she see my parents?"

Esme hesitated once again. "I think Alice should be answering your questions, my Bellflower."

I nodded. "Alright."

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I felt a tear slip down my cheek.

"Shhh, Bella. Don't cry," Esme soothed me as she smoothed my hair.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm never like this anymore. I'm strong and independent. Coming here…seeing you all…it makes me feel like I'm a teenager again."

"From the moment I spoke to you on the phone, I knew you had changed, Bellflower," Esme said softly. "I want you to know how proud I am and how much respect I hold for you. It couldn't have been easy healing on your own. I can see how much of a different person it made you."

I smiled a little. "It wasn't easy Esme. I don't think I would have ever been able to recover on my own. But I had Rosalie and Jasper, who are both my best friends."

"Well then, I'm very happy you made friends like them. I hope to meet them sometime."

I laughed. "I'm sure you will. If one thing goes wrong, Rose will be on the next plane to Forks."

Esme laughed with me before placing one more kiss on my cheek and turning to descend the stairway.

With a sigh, I plopped down on Edward's old bed. I wondered where he lived now and what he was doing. I wondered if he was married or had a girlfriend. It was hard to believe there was a possibility he could be single.

I changed into my night wear quickly and crawled beneath the comforter. After imagining sleeping in Edward's bed countless times throughout my life, I was finally doing it. Of course, being as I was in love with him for most of my adolescent years, I had always pictured being here with him.

A thousand memories passed through my mind. My first memory of his room was around the age of five. He had just gotten a little keyboard for Christmas and we were playing with it in his bedroom. He didn't want to share with me and he hid it behind his back whenever I came near him. I was smart even as a little girl and wouldn't take any of his bullshit. I stood up and pushed him angrily. The keyboard fell out of his hands and he fell on his butt.

Even then we had been so close that Edward hadn't cried or yelled or pushed me back. He had simply sat down beside me and listened to me play.

Over the years, his room and the activities we did in there changed. His wall color went from baby blue to red and the building blocks were replaced by guitars and pianos and microphones and drums. We went from playing hide and seek to listening to our iPods and writing songs.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest and grimaced. God, I missed writing songs with Edward. Lets be honest; it was all I did for ten years of my life.

I looked at the bedside clock. It was two AM. There was no way I would be falling asleep anytime soon. I thanked God I was on the top floor and wouldn't disturb anyone if I had a shower.

I crawled out of bed and started the shower in Edward's bathroom. As I stepped in and felt the hot water cascade down my back, I tried not to think that Edward had been in here, naked.

I wasn't saying I still loved him. But hey, Edward had been hot. It was normal for me to have fantasized.

I recalled a song I had written about four years ago. I think I must have remembered it because I had felt so relaxed and at peace. I was home, I was happy, I was still alive.

I began to sing in Edward's shower.

"Two AM and she calls me cause I'm still awake, 'can you help me unravel my latest mistake? I don't love him, winter just wasn't my season'. Yeah, we walk through the doors so accusing their eyes, like they have any right at all to criticize! Hypocrites, you're all here for the very same reason.

"Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable, and life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button girl, so cradle your head in your hands. And breathe…just breathe. Oh breathe…just breathe."

Something in the back of my mind told me that someone was listening to me sing, but I ignored the gut feeling for the second time tonight and continued to sing.

"May he turned 21 on the base of Fort Bliss. 'Just a day,' he said down to the flask in his fist. 'Ain't been sober since maybe October of last year.' Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while, but my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles. Wanna hold him, but maybe I'll just sing about it. Cause you can't jump a track, we're like cars on a cable. And life's like and hourglass glued to the table. No one can find a rewind button, boys. So cradle your head in your hands. And breathe…just breathe…oh breathe…just breathe. There's a light at the end of this tu—"

Suddenly there was the sound of a throat being cleared. I stopped singing abruptly and the silence that filled the room was eerie. The horror movie image of a man holding a knife outside the shower curtain caused my breath to shorten drastically. But what waited for me on the other side of the curtain was scarier than anything I could have ever imagined.

I gripped the fabric against my body and pulled it back carefully. When my eyes met a pair of startled—but intense—emerald eyes, I screamed. He yelled out in surprise and gasped when he recognized me. For a few long seconds I stared at him, drinking in his appearance. He had been scorching hot in high school—now he was practically a sex god. His hair was the same disarray it had always been except that all the wisps were a little more defined. He also had a lot more muscles than I remembered. Even with a shirt on, I could tell Edward had a well-defined six pack.

Wait…when had I started to think of him as 'Edward', opposed to 'him'?

"Bella?" he asked, bewildered.

The sensible part of my mind finally caught up with the rest of me.

"What in the fucking hell are you doing here? Get out! I'm in the motherfucking shower for fuck's sake!" I screeched. That was probably the most I'd ever said the word fuck in five seconds.

Edward stood there for a few seconds longer. His eyes roamed my face before observing the soaked shower curtain that clung suggestively to my body.

I screamed again in frustration. "Get out, Edward!"

As Edward hurried to shut the bathroom door behind him I collapsed to the floor of the tub. I took some calming deep breaths and tried not to freak out. I wasn't prepared for this. At all. I wondered if this had been planned by the Cullens. Edward seemed pretty damn shocked to find me here too. But no, that couldn't be possible. Why would they put me in Edward's room, then? I guess I'd find out in the morning.

What I needed to think about right now was what I was going to do. It was very possible Edward was just outside the bathroom door. I would need to talk to him. What was my approach going to be? Would I be angry or neutral?

Neutral would probably be best.

I stood up slowly and then shut of the water as I stepped out of the shower. I quickly dried myself off and then slipped on my nightgown. At that moment, I hated myself for leaving my jeans in the bedroom instead of the bathroom, and I hated Rose for even packing this stupid and fancy piece of nightwear when I wanted to bring my sweatpants.

I took a deep breath before pulling open the door.

Edward sat on the bed with his head in his hands. I cleared my throat quietly and he shot up from the bed and gazed at me. I looked anywhere but his eyes. We stood like this for a few awkward minutes. I knew eventually one of us would need to speak, so finally I did.

"If you'll excuse me, I would like to go to bed," I said quietly, but with authority.

"Bella, I need to apologize for what happened last time I saw you. I'm terribly sor—"

I had a feeling his apology was going to come up. I also knew I couldn't handle it tonight. I cut him off quickly.

"This is your bedroom. I'll go sleep with Alice." I turned on my heels and fled from the room. He followed me and ran down the hall until he could grab my wrist. That stupid, familiar electric current shot up my arm and it pissed me off. I yanked my am away from him.

"Don't touch me," I whispered.

He took a step back but spoke again. "I'm sorry for—"

"Jesus, Edward!" I snapped. So much for my neutral approach. It would have to commence tomorrow.

He looked bewildered, so I continued.

"Don't you dare dump this shit on me at two-fucking-thirty in the morning! I don't have a clue why you're here; your family assured me you wouldn't be. I'm so pissed that you think you can apologize for what you've done, just like that! You can't. I can only take so much at a time, so fucking leave me alone at least until the sun comes up."

His shocked expression slowly disappeared and he gazed into my eyes. His deep stare caught me off guard and I became locked in it. Slowly, he leaned forward and brushed a piece of hair from my face.

The moment his skin came in contact with my cheek, I had the most startling feeling I had ever felt. I felt like I had found the place I was supposed to be for the rest of my life. I was completely relaxed and had not a worry in my mind. Everything was perfect and right and how it should be. I had thought I was home before when I talked to the Cullens, but this was a different kind of 'home'. It was like my soul had found its missing piece.

I didn't know if I was missing my best friend or if I was starting to feel attracted to him again. Either way, I knew my feelings for him were already rising to the surface. And that scared the shit out of me.

I took a few staggering steps away from him until my back was pressed against the wall. I stared at him for a couple more seconds before running down the stairs toward Alice's bedroom. I flew open the door and slammed it shut behind me.

"Bella?" Alice asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. I couldn't answer.

"Bella, what happened?"

With a shaking voice, I answered her. "Edward."

I'm planning on naming chapters after songs starting with this one. Just look them up on YouTube—they'll be sung somewhere in the chapter. It's fun to read with music.

Also, I was wondering if anyone is a beta reader or knows someone who is one. I am in desperate need of someone to help me with editing. I can edit other people's stories really well, but when it comes to my own writing, I make millions of mistakes and then overlook them.

Thanks so much for reading!

(Reviews get the next 500 words)

-Maiya