Oh I Hate You But, I Love You Too Bk 1:Ch 6(edited):No Time To Celebrate, a twilight fanfic

Yellow

When I saw that the lights were all out as I pulled into the driveway, the anger that I had from Edward's little electrocution stunt turned into pure alleviation, for I knew that that right there was a sure sign that Phil and Renee were passed out cold.

Closing the front door behind me after I stepped inside, I shoved my chucks off as I locked up, trying like all hell not to make any noise while I let my eyes roam the darkened living room.

Not wanting to risk disturbing their slumber, I tiptoed my ass over to the stairs.

Oh, you didn't know?

This is how a twenty one year old grown ass woman acts in her own home.

Imagine that, right?

As I raised my foot to take the first step, I ended up stubbing my goddamn pinky toe, which in return had me hissing out a few curse words before I froze, hoping and praying that no one heard my being as I slapped one of my hands over my mouth.

And not even a second later, the living room light turned on.

Looking over my shoulder, I held back my groan when I saw Phil sitting up from the couch that he was laying down on, his hand leaving the lamp that was next to him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Isabella?"

Mumbling an unfelt apology, I went to leave but his voice calling my name stopped me, mid-step. "Come here, I want to talk to you about a situation that's been going on for the last couple of days."

All five of my fingers tightened around the banister that they were holding onto as I lowered my head. "Phil, I'm...I'm exhausted from working all night. Can this wait until tomorrow?"

"No."

Well then. Guess that I don't have a fucking choice now, do I?

Looking up at me with a smile after I reached his side, he patted his lap. "Sit."

My nails dug into my palms at his command. "I don't think that's appropria—"

Grabbing onto my hips, he pulled me forward and placed me where he wanted me. Laying my fisted hands on top of my lap, I looked away from him as he started running his fingers over my knees, "Isabella," he whispered, brushing his nose against my ear, "Do you feel that?"

Feeling nothing but enraged, I closed my eyes at the tears that were about to come.

Knowing that he'd be satisfied if I were to let them fall, I tried my hardest not to...

"Answer me!"

I jumped, startled by his voice. "I don't know what you're talking about, Phil."

He laughed, grabbing a hold of my chin to turn my face towards his own. Using his free hand, he pushed me down into his lap, forcing me against something that I didn't want to be forced against. "Don't lie to me, Isabella. Tell me that you feel it."

I shoved his hands off of me, cutting this fucking act of his short.

Standing up in a move that I didn't expect, he tossed me over with an ear-peircing growl that I cringed away from as I started sliding myself away from the anger that he's been holding back. "How many times do I have to tell you before you get it?" he asked, staying in place as he looked down at me, "Disrespecting me, it will get you nowhere, Isabella!"

Keeping my eyes on him, I slowly pushed myself up to my feet, letting my body relax a bit from being away from his own...only to have that second of freedom stolen as he took a hold of the front of my hoodie when I went to turn around and run. "Phil, no," I begged as soon as I was thrown over his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"

I started kicking when he chose to ignore the words that were leaving my system by stomping up the stairs, the very same ones that I no longer wanted to fucking climb.

No vice.

I started punching when he chose to ignore the kicking by reaching the top of those stairs, the very same one that'll lead us into a place that I didn't want to be led into.

No vice.

"Say goodnight to mommy, Isabella," he hummed, pulling their bedroom door open.

My eyes held nothing but heaviness as they moved around the dimly lit room...only to widen in fear when they spotted Renee laying on top of the bed sheets, passed the fuck out with an empty bottle of liquor in her hand. "Phil, this...this isn't nec—"

"Say it."

Choking on the words that I was told to say, I closed my eyes.

He turned around and slammed the door shut behind us before he started heading over towards my bedroom, "No!" I shouted, thrashing around frantically, "Please, Phil, don't do this! I'm fucking...I'm begging you, please!"

Unaffected by the tremble that my voice contained, he carried me over to my bed before he dropped me, letting my body hit the mattress with a bounce that seemed so...so goddamn infinitesimal to me right now. Looking around, I pushed my legs out and moved away from where he stood, trying to soak in all of the peace that this place has given me in the past because when this whole thing's said and done...this room, it'll mean nothing to me.

Keeping his eyes on me, he started moving away, towards the door as he proceeded to undo his pants and at this point, I just...I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Phil," I broke down, pushing my back into the wall that the bed was pressed up against, "You don't have to do this..."

He cocked his head to the side a little bit, looking at me with an expression that I didn't recognize as he pulled the door closed. "Is that what you want, Isabella?"

"What?" I asked, fucking crying, not exactly understanding what he meant.

Letting go of the belt that was half undone, he grinned. "All that you had to do was say so…of course you can do it for me," he clarified, his voice almost inaudible as he started walking over towards the bed again, "There's no need for you to beg."

I shook my head as I placed my feet against the mattress. "No," I whispered quietly, pushing myself even further back into the wall, "That's...Phil, that's not w—what I meant..."

"There's no need for you to be shy, Isabella," he whispered as soon as his knees reached the edge of the bed. Pointing down at his pants, he gave me a nod that I once again shook my head at, "Take them off."

My breathing picked up at his demand while I just...sat there, watching him as my fingers tried to pull the hem of my hoodie over my legs with the purpose of hoping that the fabric would just swallow up my entire being, "I'm not going to take anything o—"

He slammed his hands down onto the bed with a growl before he reached out and took a hold of my ankles. I screamed his name as he pulled on them, my fingers looking for anything to stop the movement of my body leaving the comfort of the wall that it was trying to become one with. "I won't tell you twice, you fucking whore," he hissed, letting go of his hold on me when I reached the edge, "Do what I told you to do!"

"Phil, please…"

"Do it," he spat, taking a hold of my hands before placing them over his belt, "Now!"

I lowered my head, forcing my fingers to undo what he desired to be undone.

"What are you, fucking stupid?" he spat, aggravated by my slow pace as his fingers against my chin lifted my face up to his. Closing my eyes, I added to his anger by avoiding his gaze, not in the least wanting to see the satisfaction that I knew his own held, "Lower the goddamn zipper, Isabella, and pull down my goddamn pants..."

My hands dropped down to the bed afterwards, as I remained as still as possible.

"Open your eyes," I heard him whisper, "I want you to see what you do to me."

Not wanting to see a single thing, I cried out, shaking my head at him once more.

"Open your fucking eyes!" he shouted, moving my face back and forth, "Now!"

Stripped.

Bare.

Prominent.

Just, there.

Annoyed by the unappreciative blank stare that his 'arousal' created, Phil pushed me onto my back before he climbed on top of me, making the bed sink underneath my body as he straddled it. Forcing my arms above my head, he held my wrists against the sheets with the hand that wasn't pulling my hoodie off. "If you fight me in any way, I'll prolong everything."

Knowing that his words were nothing but a promise, what with them holding enough proof in the past, I choked on my tears as he ripped my tee shirt off of my torso, the sound of fabric tearing filling the room. "Phil," I cried, still trying, "I won't say anything, I swear...you d—don't have to do th—this..."

He sat up on his knees and popped the buttons off of my jeans, the sound so loud that it burned pure pain into my ears while it echoed throughout the room. "But I do, though," he told me with a grin, pulling the rough texture down over my hips as he hummed in leery satisfaction, his gaze longing for something that I've never once missed, "How can I not?"

My eyes went to his mouth as he used his teeth to rip apart the condom package...

I looked away when he lowered his hand down to himself, not wanting to see shit.

Feeling his weight over mine, I held my breath as I lifted my chin...letting my blurry vision meet the darkness of the night by looking out of my window, and when his knees nudged my own apart from each other, I cursed the bright stars for their vivid existence.

My fingers tensed up once, before they became numb from the grip that they had over the bunched up sheets that were laying by my hands when he penetrated me with a grunt. "You're tighter than the last time," his lips hissed against the taunt skin of my neck before he thrust into me again, "I'm—I'm afraid that I'm not going to last long."

Really, motherfucker?

Because I give a shit.

He stilled after a minute or two - the time holding no importance to me - as he laid his forehead against my collarbone, his heavy panting poisoning my skin and pissing me off more than anything that has ever pissed me off before. "That...that was..."

Turning my head to the side at the words that he couldn't finish, I buried my face into one of the pillows that were nearby, trying to somewhat muffle the sharp cries that were rattling my throat as they craved for an escape that I wasn't in any way, shape, or form willing to grant them.

The weight that was practically suffocating my insides left, and I finally breathed, my chest burning from keeping it in for so long. As the mattress dipped underneath my body, I turned away from the pillow and saw Phil climbing off of the bed that didn't belong to me anymore, looking at me with eyes that portrayed the worthlessness that I felt at that very moment. "You're goddamn filthy," he spat, bending over to pick up the shirt that he ripped off of me earlier, "Get dressed."

I nodded, both in agreement and in intention as I looked away from him.

In my own fucking room, my...the only goddamn safe haven that I have...

As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, I jumped out of bed and stumbled my way into the bathroom. Falling down next to the toilet, I dry heaved something painful, ignoring the curse words that my knees where screaming at me when they hit the hard tiles, their bones asking me what they did wrong to deserve their punishment.

An agonizing minute passed before I was rewarded with emptying out everything.

Everything that I didn't want...

Everything that I never wanted...

Everything that I'll never want again.

Pushing myself away from the toilet's contents, I leaned against the tub, letting its cool surface chill the skin of my naked back as I blindly reached behind me for the faucet. Hearing the soothing sound of flowing water echoing throughout the small room after a few seconds, I looked over my shoulder to move the control knob all the way over to where the red colored label ended.

After stepping into the shower, I closed my eyes in pure gratification as I placed my palms flat against the tiles, letting the hot water run down my body from above and honest to God, not giving a damn that I was probably burning the existence out of my skin, for I wanted to feel anything other than what I was currently feeling.

Fucking dirty, when all that I desired was cleanliness.

Stepping out of the shower after scrubbing my skin raw, I turned off the water, not bothering to wrap a towel around me, seeing no point in doing so because I was already feeling bare, both inside and out...after everything that took place within the last however long.

Lowering myself down onto the bathroom floor, I placed my warm forehead against the cool tiles as I gasped for air that my body wasn't allowing me...

How could this be happening again?

The shiver that ran through my blood, it startled me awake. Sitting up, I looked around the room, running my hand over the back of my neck to try to massage the stiffness away from the sore muscles that I felt there.

Feeling a slight breeze of some sort, I lowered my head and grimaced at the barely concealed body that I saw, letting my eyes run across the only article of clothing that I had on, which was a bra that felt uncomfortable from being worn while damp.

After pushing myself off of the cold ass floor, I grabbed onto one of the towels that were placed on top of the counter and wrapped it around my body before I left the bathroom that I'd rather never fucking see again.

Looking out of my window and thinking to myself that it wasn't that big of a jump, I got dressed in an old tee shirt and some sweatpants, pulling a hoodie that once belonged to J over my head afterwards before I shoved my feet into a pair of chucks.

I packed a bag with some jeans, tees, boy shorts, bras, and socks before I pulled the top drawer open, that one that held extra shit that I'd eventually need. Grabbing a hold of all of the shower supplies that I used on the regular, I added them into the mix, along with my toothbrush and toothpaste...thinking that I'd just buy whatever I forgot as I zipped it closed.

Throwing my bag out of the window, I looked around, letting my eyes memorize the place that used to feel safe as they roamed the bedroom. Climbing out, I placed my foot on top of the thickest part of the tree that served its time in shielding the inside from the outside, "If the neighbors were to see me now," I grumbled to myself, maneuvering my accident-prone ass down its bark...

When I reached a 'safe' distance, I jumped off...only to land on the ground with a growl as I twisted the shit out of one of my goddamn ankles. "Oh you motherfucker."

Ignoring the ache that my athletic-lacking ass created, I pushed myself up to my feet as I threw my bag over my shoulder. After giving the house another glance, I limped my way over to my truck and got inside, wanting to get the fuck out of here.

Pushing myself away from the seat that I was leaning against, I grabbed a hold of the cell phone that was sitting on top of the dashboard when it started ringing, its 'I'm your hell, I'm your dream, I'm nothing in between' interrupting the silence that's been keeping me company for the past two hours. "Hello?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the empty field that my truck was parked in front of.

Silence.

I closed my eyes as I leaned back into my seat again. "Hello?"

"Since when the fuck do you answer your phone with hello?" Rose asked.

"What are you talking about, I answer with hello sometimes..."

"Yeah, uhm, never. What's going on, where are you?" I closed my eyes at the sudden tears that appeared against them as I ran my free hand through my hair. "Honey B?"

"Yeah," I rasped something scratchy, clearing my throat afterwards, "I'm here."

"Shit, you're scaring me, where are you? I'm on my way."

"Rose..." I shook my head, irritated with no one but myself, "Rose, I'm goo—"

"Don't even try to tell me that you're good," she hissed, "I'm on my way."

I growled at the sound of the click that I heard a second later. Flipping my phone shut after giving the screen the middle finger, I let it fall down to my lab as I sat up to twist the key that's been sitting in the ignition, knowing that I had to get to Rose before she ended up having another one of those 'I'm gonna kill a motherfucker' fits.

Ten Minutes Later

"B, I...I don't see your truck, where...I mean, why aren't you home?" she asked as soon as I answered my cell phone...only to keep on going when I went to tell her to chill the fuck out, "Oh my God, it finally happened, didn't it? That asshole, he snapped, lost his fucking mind, kidnapped you—didn't he? Oh that's it, I'm calling the cops!"

"Rose."

"Can you recognize anything around? If not, give me clues, I'm going to hire a — "

"Rose."

"Fucking detective and we'll discover your ass, don't you worry. He's going to r—"

Stopping at the red light, I kept my foot on the break as I slammed my hands against the steering wheel. "Rose!" I yelled, "Jesus Christ, shut...the fuck...up, please!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I..." a clearing of the throat, "Are you...you're okay, right?"

"Yeah," I lied, stepping on the gas pedal as the light turned. "Meet me for coffee?"

"Okay," she said in a voice that held doubt, "I'll be there, waiting for you."

Looking behind me as I walked up to the door, I hissed at the feeling of something solid slamming into my shoulder. Turning around, I rolled my eyes at the grimace that Jasper was sporting as he held onto the heavy ass glass that ended up hitting me...the one that he once again decided to use to leave the cafe. "Shit, Bella, I—I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," he mumbled, brushing my hand away from the ache that I started soothing before using his own to massage the spot, "I should uh, probably let you in on something that a lot of people don't know about me..."

"Oh?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, "And what would that be?"

Letting his fingers drop from my shoulder as I placed my arms across my chest, he shoved his hands into the back pockets of the jeans that he was wearing, "Back in the day when I was enrolled in elementary school, I wanted to rebel against my parents by skipping class every other week...thinking that I was so cool, you know?"

I pursed my lips together, waiting for Blue Eyes to continue...

"Guess that shit caught up to me, though," he whispered sadly, lowering his head as he tried to hide the sly little grin that I had no trouble spotting whatsoever, "I'm beginning to think that I missed the class that would've taught me a thing or two about common sense...common sense as in what to do if I were to ever come across certain objects that were known for serving a specific purpose, such as, oh, I don't know, door signs, maybe...because apparently, ignoring them like I've been doing so ever since I flunked out? Yeah, it hasn't been working out too well for me, or for you unfortunately..."

I grinned, "No worries, Jasper. It was my fault this time, I wasn't paying attention."

He raised an eyebrow at me, one that held skepticism. "Are you cool?"

I nodded, avoiding the kid's gaze by looking over his shoulder, "Yeah, Blue Eyes, I'm good," I told him while I waved at Emily, who in return winked at me as she handed one of her customers a cup of coffee, "Like I said a second ago, no worries."

"You seem different," he stated, gaining my attention by lowering his face down to mine, "I thought that I would've gotten some smart-ass comment after telling you that story but instead, I got nothing. It's actually kind of creeping me out right now."

I shrugged, lifting my hoodie up over my head. "I'm golden."

"Sure?"

Smiling at his 'sure?' I pushed him into the door. "Yeah, dude. Don't sweat it."

"Alright," he laughed, returning my shove with one of his own, "I'll see you later."

"Sounds good," I nodded, waiting until he left my side before heading over towards the table that Rose was already occupying. After taking a seat next to her, I rolled my eyes at the whispered 'Happy birthday, Honey B' that I got as she leaned over a bit to give me a quick kiss, "Yeah," I mumbled, looking away from her, "Don't remind me."

"Emmett's on his way."

I raised an eyebrow at her, grabbing a hold of one of the menus. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Unnecessarily flipping the menu open, I shrugged, leaning back into my chair as I kept my eyes on the words that I didn't care to read, "I'm just surprised, I guess," I lied when in all honesty, I was just worried that my brother would notice that something was bothering me, "Whatever."

And there goes my menu, flying across the room.

"What the fuck, Rose?"

"Don't offend me by thinking that I don't fucking know you, Bella Marie Swan," she whispered angrily, "Acting like you're actually interested in looking at that menu that you never once payed any attention to, what with you ordering the same old shit every single time that I'm here with you. Something happened and as your best friend, I want to know about it."

"Nothing happened, Rose," I argued, shoving my hands into the pockets that covered the front of my hoodie. Looking over my shoulder, I gave Emily a simple nod as she pointed at the coffee machine with a raised eyebrow, "It's early as all hell, can't I just be tired? After all, it's not like I'm the only one who's not as 'alert' as you are in the goddamn AM so shove a toothpick up your ass and deal with it."

"Bullshit."

"Your face is bullshit," I sighed, bored.

As I lifted my hand up into the air to give her growl the middle finger, my intention of telling her to fuck off was interrupted by the sound of the bell that was attached to the front door, its quiet 'ding' letting the cafe know that we had more company.

Looking over my shoulder, I grinned when I saw Em stepping inside, doing what he did best by showing us that dimpled smile of his that I'll honestly never get tired of.

Emily walked up to my brother soon after, whispering a "heyheyhey" that created a certain type of a happiness within me...one that vibrated my entire being as I sat there and watched her place numerous kisses across those cheeks of his that in response, turned pink from the shyness that he tried to hide by ruffling her hair up a little bit.

Leaning over Rose after he reached the table, Emmett gave her a kiss that I blatantly gagged at...only to quickly dismiss their disgusting morning affection as soon as my attention landed on the steaming hot cup of coffee that Emily was holding out to me. "Happy birthday, lady."

I mumbled my thanks, grabbing a hold of the caffeine that my system desperately needed as she leaned over to give my lips a quick peck. Placing the cup on top of the table to let it cool down, I smiled something big when my brother pulled my face up to his own to kiss the skin that was found in between my eyebrows. "Hey, Kiddo."

Moving over to the other empty chair, I let him have his regular one. "Hello."

"Wait, what?" he asked, looking at me all crazy as he took a seat, "Hello, though?"

"Uh, yeah, as in hello, nice to see you, motherfucker…"

Leaning back into his chair, Em kept his eyes on me as he placed Rose's feet on top of his lap after she lifted them for him to do so. "When the hell did Bella Swan start saying hello?" he asked her, giving me a single nod as if to say who the fuck is this?

"Hah, told you!" Rose shouted, pointing at me, "Nothing but fucking weird."

Leaning forward, I smacked the back of Emmett's head. "Better?"

"Much better," he laughed. "Happy fucking birthday, Kiddo."

I grinned, loving him for being...him. "Thanks, Emmett."

Stepping out of the house after spending a total of fifteen minutes getting ready for the rest of the night, I stopped my feet from moving forward when I saw Phil and Renee stepping out of the car that was left running...

My eyes, they focused on my mom as she laughed at something that Phil was whispering into her ear and I smiled a smile that was honest to God...real, because for the first time in a long time, it looked as if she wasn't obliterated beyond belief.

Reaching the front door that I was standing in front of, Phil's all around presence, it was completely ignored while my sight stayed on Renee, whose crystal clear brown eyes actually matched my own for once, which was just...weird, yet so fucking nice...

"Hey, baby," she hummed, her fingers reaching towards my hair, "Where you going?"

Snapping out of my thoughts at hearing the 'baby,' I leaned away from her touch.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper, hurt by my sudden withdrawal it felt like.

"Nothing," I replied, tugging on the bottom hem of my hoodie, "I'm just trying to get out of he—" slapping her fingers away from my hair when they reached for it once again, I stopped them from touching what I didn't want them to touch with a pair of narrowed eyes, "Stop it, Renee."

Leaning against Phil's shoulder, she laughed something fake, something that told me that she was nothing but uncomfortable with the distance that in all reality, she fucking created. "Why do you insist on calling me Renee?" she asked me, acting like she truly didn't know the answer...which was bullshit, "I'm your mother, call me mom."

"Sure." I nodded towards my truck, silently telling her to move out of my way.

Her face fell as she leaned away from Phil's shoulder and yeah, it hurt for me too but, the pleasure of seeing my 'mother' in any type of pain outweighed the shit, so...

Boo - the fuck - hoo.

Without another word, she stepped inside before heading over towards the kitchen, her strides deliberate with wanting nothing more than to start the night early with the rum that she kept 'so well hidden' underneath the sink. Giving Phil a glance that lasted less than a second, I rolled my eyes at the stupid ass grin that covered his fucking mouth before I left the spot that I should've left two fucking minutes ago.

"Isabella?"

Pulling the door open after I reached my truck, I stopped short at the sound of my name being called. Unwilling to give him that attention that he always seemed to crave, I kept my eyes on the seat that my ass was interrupted from sitting on.

"Thank you for making last night so amazing for me," he started, like the sick fuck that he was, "Maybe next time, daddy'll return the favor by letting you enjoy it, too."

Grinding my teeth together, I climbed inside, slammed the door shut and took off.

A bunch of "Happy Birthday!" shouts was what I got as soon as I opened the door.

There was Emmett and Jake, grinning like a pair of tools as they pumped their fists up into the air, all the while using the music that mind you, wasn't even playing...as their source of 'rhythm.'

Rose and Alice, they were standing next to the two grown ass idiots, holding hands while they bounced around with a chick-like kind of an excitement that made me want to puke.

Looking over to my left, I grinned when I saw Sam and Emily, who were both acting like the adults that they were as they leaned against the wall, wearing lovely smiles across their lovely faces.

And then I noticed Edward and Jasper, standing side by side in front of the kitchen door with a matching demeanor of shyness that held nothing but total uncertainty...

Uncertainty, that I became suspicious of...for it had me thinking that they didn't want to be here and that the only reason as to why they were here was because of...

Rose and Pix looked away from the narrowed pair of eyes that I threw at them.

After returning my attention back to the kids who were 'invited' over by those two bitches, I kept my eyes on Edward a little longer than what's considered 'necessary,' only to quickly look away when I heard two distinct clearings of the throat. "Mind your business," Rose told my brother, smacking the back of his head at the same time that Pix smacked the back of J's with a growl of "And what are you looking at?"

Slamming the door shut with the back of my foot after they both mumbled some kind of an apology in return, I placed my hoodie over my head when I noticed all of the goddamn attention that I was getting, "He—" I cleared my throat before I tried to talk once again, "Hello..."

"That's kind of..."

"Weird, right?" Rose asked Emily, whose head remained cocked to the side.

"It's definitely..."

"Weird, man. Weird," Emmett finished for Sam, who agreed with a grimace.

Placing his arms across his chest, Jake just...stared at me, like I was some kind of a fucking stranger, or something. "Yo, chick who says 'Hello.' This party that you just crashed, it's for Bella Swan..."

I snorted, shaking my head at him before I said, "Kill yourself."

"Now there's, my girl!" he shouted, ignoring the sighs of dramatic relief that could be heard throughout the room as he started heading over towards me, thinking that he was suave by exercising some kind of a pimp walk that I rolled my eyes at. Ignoring the gesture, Jake lifted me up into the air to give me a kiss. "Happy birthday, Bells."

Giving his cheek a few light smacks in thanks after he lowered me down to the floor, I turned my attention over to Em, who unnecessarily shoved J aside as soon as he reached us. Paying the growl that left his buddy's being no mind whatsoever, my brother wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Happy fucking birthday, Kiddo."

"Okay, that's enough!" Rose yelled, appearing out of nowhere as she grabbed a hold of my arm with the hand that didn't once again smack the back of my brother's head. Yanking me away from the hug that I didn't get a chance to return, the broad started pulling me over towards the couch...

I hissed as soon as she straight up tackled me, acting like we were in the middle of playing some kind of a fucking football game that I so did not sign up for, "Jesus H. Christ," I groaned a second later when the Pixie joined in by jumping on top of Rose, whose body was practically smothering my own, "My back, you bitches!"

Taking my words as a go ahead and continue with whatever you plan on doing, the two of them started smearing the disgusting thickness of their lipsticks across my face by attacking me with kisses. "Alright, shit, I get it, I'm loved!" I yelled, trying to shove them off of me, "I'm two goddamn seconds away from barfing, no fucking lie!"

A single second too fucking long, later

Lifting my legs up to my chest, I used every single ounce of energy that I had within me to kick them off of my body...only to grin in mission accomplished afterwards when they both landed on the floor, with Rose on top of the Pixie Dust...

The Pixie Dust, who complained that her "vagina" was "broken" in a grumble that I...

Laughed at, obviously...pushing myself up from the couch with a smile that was directed at the only two civil goddamn human beings that were at this joint, Sam and Emily, who ignored the two pussies that were sprawled out on the floor by stepping over them to give me a hug that I wholeheartedly accepted and returned.

Letting go of me, Emily turned around and faced the room before she...or better yet, LMFAO...started pumping her fist up into the air with every shout of "Shots, shots, shots-shots, shots shots, shots, shots-shots, shots shots, shots, shots-shots, shots shots..."

"Evrrryybodayyy!" Sam finished for her, or shall I say Lil Jon?

Alright, so I take back that whole 'civil human beings' bullshit.

Sam and Emily Uley, they were just like the rest of my friends.

Fucking animals.

Rolling my eyes when they all started charging towards the kitchen in some barbaric type of a way as soon as liquor was mentioned, I lowered my hoodie from my head before I walked over to the only two kids who were left standing. "I'm sorry about all of...that," I started, apologizing for the behavior that they just witnessed, "And for having to deal with Rose and Alice. Those two, they don't know how to act, going around threatening people to go to parties that they might not want to go to…"

Blue Eyes laughed as he shook his head. "Nah, they just told us that it was your birthday, so..." pausing, he looked over at his buddy and nudged his shoulder with his own, asking him "We both wanted to come, isn't that right, Cullen?"

Returning his attention back to me, Edward smirked. "Definitely."

Fucking sexy ass.

I shrugged a "Well" before I gave the kitchen door a nod, "I'm going to go in there and make sure that no one gets hurt...you guys, you're free to do whatever, so...make yourselves at home."

"Hurt, how?"

I grinned at Jasper's confusion, asking the both of them "Did you ever notice that scar that's over Jake's top lip?" They shook their heads, "Well, he got that from Emmett, who once tried to shove a full shot glass down his throat simply because he thought that his buddy wasn't drinking the tequila as fast as he could've been..."

Ignoring the shocked as shit expressions that my words produced, I continued by saying "And, you might not notice it but two of my brother's bottom teeth are chipped, almost down to the gum line? Yeah, well that's because one night, shortly after receiving his battle wound scar, Jake decided to high-five Em's mouth while he was busy chugging like the pro that he claimed to be..."

"Point taken," Jasper laughed as Edward agreed with a grin, shaking his head.

"Come on, my young grasshoppers, yous," I whispered, giving the kitchen door a nod before I started heading over towards it, "I'll show you guys how it is, hanging out with these goddamn fools who I call my friends."

Stepping inside, I pursed my lips together in amusement when I noticed the sneaky ass grin that Em was trying to hide while he kept his eyes on J, who wasn't paying my brother any attention whatsoever as he snatched a hold of the shot glass that Emily was about to hand him.

Looking over my shoulder at the newcomers, I raised a brow. "Three...two..."

"What the fuck, man?" Jake hissed, interrupting my countdown as he pushed Emmett away with a glare when he tried to shove the shot glass down his throat the second after he finished taking it, "I don't need anymore gang bang scars, asshole!"

"Well CEASE, acting like a BITCH!" Emmett yelled before taking a sip of his beer.

J laughed, smacking the bottle up against Em's face. "Cease that, motherfucker."

Well played.

Kudos to J.

Choking, my brother let the bottle of beer that he ended up catching fall down to the floor, which had me bumping into Edward and Jasper as I stepped back to save myself from the chase that was about to happen. "I have an image that needs to be kept intact, you jealous piece of shit!" he yelled as he sprinted past me to run after J, "If you chipped another goddamn tooth of mine, you're dead to me, dude! Dead!"

Grabbing a hold of my Emmett's arm when he went to make his way around the counter the second time, the Pixie threw Rose and I a glare that we both shrugged at because honest to God, people...this kind of behavior, it wasn't anything new. "Get used to it, girl," the Mrs. to the Mr. Uley told Alice...Alice Brandon, handing her a shot glass, "That shit that you just witnessed, it happens all the time. Stick around and you'll have no other choice but to learn how to ignore it. Gets easier over time..."

I grinned, nudging Sex Hair and Blue Eyes as they laughed. "True fucking story."

Em? Yeah, he was definitely feeling good.

Rose, Alice, and J? Long fucking gone.

Sam and Emily, they were...getting there.

Edward and Jasper? Looking a bit tipsy...

Me?

I was as sober as a goddamn skunk, watching Rose and Alice dancing in the middle of the living room floor...or, as they had put in...they were quote unquote 'droppin' it like it was hot,' which included booty shaking that warranted random shouts of...

Booty, booty, booty, booty rockin' evrywhayah!

Rockin' evrywhayah!

...

Yeah.

Rose, that bitch...she was as of right now holding onto Pixie's hips while she tried to teach her the 'correct method' of how to 'drop it,' claiming that the human tornado did it wrong and that she looked as if she was taking a hard shit instead of looking like hot shit.

Shaking my head at Rose's 'lessons,' I tore my eyes away from the two broads to look around the room. Emmett and Jake were laughing at whatever they were talking about, Sam and Emily were busy sticking their tongues down each other's throats, Edward and Jasper's locations were...unknown, and here the hell I am, stuck in this foul fucking mood, thinking about what I'll have to deal with after this party's over...

Going 'home.'

Wanting nothing more than to try to forget about it, and not really digging the whole company thing anyway, I stood up from the couch to sneak off into the kitchen, quietly bypassing everyone with the hopes of not gaining their attention.

Finding the brightly lit room completely empty, I smiled, skipping over to the counter like the loser that I was as I headed over to the cabinet that Em always hid his good liquor in...or, tried to hide his good liquor in, like the dumb fool that he was.

After reaching the sink, I bent over a bit to pull the wooden door open so that I could reach inside...only to smile something humongous after doing so, what with the whole search not taking as long as I thought that it would take as I wrapped my fingers around the familiar feeling bottle of liquor that's going to end up helping me out on a night like this. "Fucking A, man."

After straightening myself up, I placed the mickey mouse mug that I grabbed a hold of on top of the counter before I started filling it up with the whiskey that always seemed to lift my spirits when they were down, not at all caring that I probably looked like some kind of an alcoholic as the brown liquid reached the goddamn rim.

And don't look at me like that, motherfuckers.

I'm drinking my problems away for once...

So blah, if you deem it a problematic behavior.

Halfway through Mickey

Pushing myself away from the counter that I have been leaning against for God only knows how long, I let my eyes roam the kitchen as I tried to think of a good hiding spot for my alcoholic beverage, knowing that I should probably start heading back out into the living room before they realize that I've been gone for a good while now.

Why, am I looking for such a 'spot,' you ask?

Oh c'mon, you unsuspecting pieces of shits! Think realistically for just a moment...

There's a possibility that we got a few undercover bottle snatchers up in this joint.

My whiskey baby? It's been doing nothing but brightening up my fucking mood, so…it's a no go. A definite no go, on taking any kind of a chance on having it being seen.

Wait.

Did I just refer to the liquor that I've been drinking as my...my whiskey baby?

Pausing my search for just a second, I lowered my head to look into my mug. "Huh," I whispered to myself when I noticed that the majority of what I was holding was empty, "I really did drink that much..."

But, fuck it, right?

"Right," I answered...myself, before I located the perfect fucking spot, "Hah! Hell yes!"

After spending a good ten minutes trying to cram my seemingly huge ass behind the refrigerator that wasn't in any way fucking cooperating, I hissed at its solid being that no lie...weighed more than two elephants put together, "Let...me...through, you cold motherfucker! Let me through!"

"Bella?"

"Uh, yeah?" I asked...Edward?

"What are you doing?"

"How can I help you?" I asked instead, cause couldn't he see that I was busy?

He laughed something that sounded...close-by. "Are you uh...good back there?"

Knowing that he was now behind me, I turned my head towards his voice only to groan when I came face to face with the fridge that the left side of my body was pressed up against. "Yeah, I'm good," I dismissed him, waving my hand within the small space that allowed me to do so, "Thanks for checking, though...okay, bye now!"

"Bella, what are you even doing right now, honestly?"

Narrowing my eyes at the sound of his sneakers taking another step closer, I placed the whiskey bottle against my chest and cradled it like my life depended on its existence. "Yeah, so...the fridge was like, so broken," I lied, which was totally brilliant.

Until it wasn't, when I heard him pulling the fridge door open a second later.

"Yeah, so...everything in here looks fine, Bella," he said, using that type of a tone, the one that silently told me that he was sporting a smirk, "I don't see anything wron—"

"Yeah, Edward, I know that there isn't anything wrong with the fridge now," I interrupted the kid with a roll of my eyes, "But that's only because I just got done fixing it, duh. I mean, thank God that I'm here, right?" I asked, laughing something obnoxiously awkward that I cringed at afterwards, "Emmett and Rose, they like, so owe me for saving the both of them a shit-ton of mul-ah, am I right or am I right?"

Silence, was what I got in return.

Assuming that the kid left - which was fucking golden - I performed a little fist pump of victory before I hissed, as my pinky finger slammed itself into one of the top cabinets that were always too goddamn low for their own good. Lowering my hand, I shoved my injured digit into my mouth to relieve the throbbing sensation...

"Bella?"

I growled, closing my eyes. "What can I fucking help you with, Edward?"

"When are you planning on coming out?"

I shrugged, or at least...tried to. "Soon."

"Do you need anything from me?"

"No," I replied, suspicious, "Peace out."

"You've been in here for the past hour."

I groaned at being the goddamn birthday chick. "Alright, fine, just...give me a minute," I told him before I tried to back up, which wasn't working...at all, for my shoulders decided that they wanted to become my fucking enemies, what with them getting in the way of an easy exit, "Come...on," I hissed, bumping into the fridge and into the wall as I moved to the left and to the right, "Get lost, you goddamn traitors!"

"Bella?" he laughed after hearing my frustration, "I can help you, if you want?"

Ignoring him, I lowered my ass down to the floor, scoffing at the dude who thought that he could play Bella Swan for a fool. "I wasn't born yesterday, Edward," I let the possible undercover bottle snatcher know, leaning back a bit to straighten out my legs before twisting them together in some awkward type of a way that had me congratulating myself afterwards, for flexibility...it was never a skill that I possessed...ever, "Don't even waste your time, trying to get one past me..."

"Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?"

Placing the bottom of my chucks against the narrow column of wall that was in front of me, one above the other...I tried to scoot my ass back. "God-damnit!" I gritted in aggravation as I kicked the white-painted surface, "Give me a fucking break here!"

"Jesus Christ…seriously, though?"

Tilting my head back, I narrowed my eyes at Edward, who was just...standing there, looking down at my 'situation' with lips that were pursed together and in return, irking my fucking more than irked being right now, "Honest to God, Bella...how in the hell did you even get yourself back there?" he asked, before raising a brow at my legs, "And in that position?"

"Can you just shut up and help me out of this position, you asshole?"

"Since you asked me so nicely..." he grinned as I rolled my eyes, lowering himself down to the floor by bending his knees some. "Alright, so...I'm going to grab onto your waist and when I say go, I want you to push against the wall that's supporting your paper-clip looking legs right now so that I can pull you out of here. Sound good?"

I nodded, agreeing to his instructions with a hand clap.

And then I giggled, because no lie, a fucking hand clap?

Wrapping his arms around me, tight and oh so very right...he laid his chin over my shoulder before I felt him bracing himself behind me. "Alright, I got you," he said after a few seconds passed by, "You can go ahead and push against me when you're ready."

I remained completely still, hiding my smile.

"Bella," he whispered, tapping my sides, "I said push against me, not fall asleep."

"But you didn't say go, like you said that you would. I'm a direction follower."

The kid's hold loosened, just a bit...as he huffed. "A direction follower, though?"

I shrugged, laying my arms over his own. "Copy-written so, don't copy me..."

"Okay, Missy," he laughed something that tickled my cheek, squeezing me, "Go."

...

"Well," the kid mumbled from underneath me, laying on his back that was probably broken from how hard it landed on the tiles, "I should've probably told you that you weren't auditioning for the fucking olympics..."

Giving the arms that were still wrapped around my waist a couple of taps, I snorted, keeping my eyes on the ceiling while I let his chest support the majority of my body weight. "Your distraction wasn't my fault, Edward. You said go, so I fucking went..."

"Right," he groaned, bringing me with him as he pushed himself up, "You alright?"

I nodded, taking the hand that he offered me after he stood up. "No worries."

Amused by the giggle that left me as he pulled me up to my feet, the kid grinned.

Deciding that I needed to get away from Edward Cullen's sexy-as-all-hell being before I ended up embarrassing myself by humping the kid's mouth or something, I walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat on one of the stools that were pulled out...

Only to groan a second later when he joined me, by dumping that mighty fine ass of his on the stool that was placed right next to my own, which in return...had him all up close and personal and...shit. I needed to distract myself...

Flying forward, I payed the raised eyebrow that my rapidness earned itself no mind by grabbing a hold of the mug that I must've left on top of the table earlier. Bringing it up to my mouth, I started singing a little tune, to myself of course, talking about...

Hey, mickey you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind...

"Hey, mickey!" I shouted...out-loud, only to slap my free hand over my mouth when I noticed the smirk that was starting to overtake his own. Hiding the pout that my lips formed behind my palm, I played it cool by saying "That song, I kind of dig it..."

Cause, you know, I didn't...

As the smirk stayed in place, I uncovered my gap with a roll of my eyes. "Yeah, okay, so...I own a mental filter that's been on some kind of a permanent vacation, sue me."

Stealing the mug out of my hand, Edward kept his eyes on my narrowed ones as he brought my baby up to his nose to sniff it. "Whiskey, yeah?" he asked, with a smile tugging on the corner of that delicious looking mouth of his that I all of a sudden wanted to devour.

I nodded, extra slow...kind of mesmerized, and more than hungry. "Yeah."

Lowering one of Rose's most cherished possessions down to his mouth, he made me proud by taking a long sip of the best goddamn liquor known to man...only to disappoint me by choking out a cough a few seconds later. Shaking my head at the pussy who couldn't hang, I grabbed a hold of the mug as he cleared his throat with a grimace. "Well," he started, his voice all raspy and whatnot, "Guess that explains why I caught you crammed in between the fridge and the wall earlier, claiming that you were Ms. Fix it..."

Fucker.

"The bulb...it was out," I insisted.

"The what?"

I groaned, not wanting to explain something that I didn't even know how to fucking explain. "Oh come on, dude...don't act like you don't know what the hell I'm talking about. It was that...that what's-it-called? Oh. The cold-controller-thingy-majiger, it...it wasn't working."

He nodded, all serious and whatnot...mocking me. "Riiiiiiiight."

"Whatever."

Nudging my shoulder after I lowered my head, the kid gave me this dull type of a look that practically screamed 'Can I laugh yet, or...' Exasperated, I waved one of my hands at him, telling him to go ahead in a low grumble that had the both of us losing our shit as we cracked up...

Until, the doorbell rang...and cut our hilarity short. "Are you expecting more people?"

"I dunno," I shrugged, taking a sip out of my mug as I watched him stand up.

"Well, don't you wanna...find out?"

"Not really," I answered honestly, before chugging the rest of my liquor.

"Bella." I wiped my chin clean, asking him what's up, "It's your birthday..."

Remembering that it was in fact my birthday, I groaned, slamming the empty mickey on top of the table before taking a hold of its edges to push my stool back a bit so that I could stand up, "Alright, let's do th—"

His hands, they found my hips as soon as I stumbled out of my seat, which was my brain's fault mind you, for miscalculating the height that my chucks had to conquer.

Looking up at the kid after he righted my body, I glared at the all too familiar smirk that my feet's carelessness painted across that yummy looking mouth of his. "You good, Ms. Fix-It?"

Slapping his arms away from me, I growled. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine, sex hair."

And, cue me slapping my hand over my goddamn mouth, once the hell again.

"Hey," I heard him say as he grabbed a hold of my elbow when I went to talk away, "Did…did you just call me sex hair?"

"Sex hair?" I laughed at the kid like he was the one who was the fucking idiot, "No way, dude...why the hell would I…I mean, come on. You obviously...obviously, heard me wrong. I said...I said blex...blair, is what I said."

And what the fuck is that?

"Bella...blex blair, though?"

"Yeah, I got nothing," I gave in with a shrug, rolling my eyes at his laughter before grabbing a hold of his hand to lead him out of the kitchen, "Come on, let's go and see who's here."

As soon as I stepped out of the kitchen, I froze. "Shit," Edward cursed, bumping into me from behind before quickly grabbing a hold of my waist to keep my body from falling forward when his own accidentally walked straight into it, "Bella, what's —"

Paying the kid no mind, I glared something lethal at Andy, whose eyes widened a bit when he noticed my presence. This asshole, he was holding that redhead's hand, who was busy chit chatting with the blonde-haired broad who I had the 'delight' of meeting a few nights ago at his place when we got into that fight that Cullen ended.

Why the fuck were they all here?

The two sluts, whatever, I don't give a shit, but...Andy?

If Em and Rose find out that I know him, personally...

I don't even want to think about the hell that it'll cause.

Using my ass, I pushed Edward back into the kitchen and let the door close in front of me before I turned around to face him with a pair of narrowed eyes that had him letting go of my hips, instantly. "You invited those people over here, didn't you?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" he asked my accusation, "It's not my fucking place."

Placing my hoodie over my head, I dismissed the confusion that his gaze was filled with by asking him if he could "Do me a solid, Edward. After we're done here...when we go out there, don't say anything about Andy and I knowing each other, alright?"

"Wait, you mean to tell me that no one knows about you and Andy being friends?"

"That's exactly what I mean," I told him before I took my words back by letting him know that J was the only exception. "He's...I don't know, kind of aware I guess but, he knows how my brother is so, yeah...I'm not worried about him saying anything."

"I don't get what the big deal is," he said, "I mean, he's...he's your friend, so what?"

"Alright, look...let me just take a second and break it down for you because in all seriousness, I can't blame you for not understanding how big of a deal this actually is since we haven't known each other for that long. Emmett McCarty, he's fucking overprotective...and when I say 'overprotective,' I mean over - the fuck - protective..."

"Clearly."

"And it's not only with the dudes who I end up fooling around with or, whatever."

"Okay?"

"Em, he's that way with every...one, every single person that I talk to, he...studies?"

"Are you asking me a question?"

"God, just...God," I groaned, throwing my hands up into the air before I relaxed a bit to lay it out for the idiot, "Can I just...ask you something, without you thinking that I'm trying to be all up in your business like some nosey little bitch who has nothing better to do?"

Kid shrugged, "Sure..."

"Do you use?"

He shook his head no.

"Okay well, Andy does..."

"Yeah, I know...so?"

"So?" I laughed, "Jesus Christ, Edward, haven't you been listening to anything that's been coming out of my mouth within the last ten minutes? People would have to be blind not to see that Andy's doped up on all kinds of shit. My brother's vision? 20/20. The way that he reacted towards you when you guys first met? It'll be a picnic compared to how he'd react if he were to ever find out about Andy and I knowing each other."

"Damn," the kid said, finally getting it...or not, as "That sucks, I guess?" followed.

I started - no lie - bugging out, as I paced the kitchen. "Did Jasper invite him?"

"No," was what I got in answer as he shook his head, "He wouldn't do that."

"Shit!" I groaned, burning a hole into the kitchen floor as I continued moving around the room like a goddamn maniac, "I just don't understand why he's here—I…I don't get it, man...I mean, this whole thing, it's going to blow up and fucking explode, big time!"

"Bella, relax."

"I can't, dude...don't you get it? There's about to be a massacre up in this bitch!"

Grabbing a hold of my shoulders, Edward stopped me from pacing. "You...and the possible holes that are underneath your chucks...need to chill the fuck out, alright?"

Exhaling something heavy, I nodded as I wrapped my fingers around his wrists.

"All that we gotta do, is go out there and ignore the kid," he continued, "Act like he doesn't even exist. If Andy tries to talk to you, look the other way. I mean, he'll most likely realize that you're doing the shit on purpose but who the fuck cares, yeah?"

"Yeah," I whispered, still feeling a bit uncertain as I met his eyes, "But what if — "

He took a hold of my jaw. "I won't let anything happen, Bella. No worries, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay," he whispered, repeating the word that left my mouth with a smile that gave me a sense of relief before he took a hold of my hand to lead me out of the kitchen.

Pulling my fingers away from his own after he pushed the door open, I shook my head at his raised eyebrow. "It'll uh, look weird," I whispered, giving Em and J a nod afterwards, "My brother's not the only overprotective dude who's on my ass, so..."

"You act like that's a bad thing," he whispered back, "Chick's need dudes like that."

I rolled my eyes, mentally adding Edward Cullen's name to the list of men who don't allow me room to fucking breathe. "Great," I mumbled, lowering my hoodie from my head as I looked around, "Looks like I got myself another live one..."

"Consider yourself lu—"

"Edward, baby!" was the screech that interrupted the kid's consider yourself lucky.

Realizing that the sound of pure death came from the blonde-haired chick who was currently leaning against the far wall all by her lonesome hooker-ish self, Edward groaned, looking like he wanted to run away from whatever she was offering. "This fucking broad, man...glued to my dick, I swear to Christ. Bella, where can I go and —"

"You act like that's a bad thing," I interrupted, returning the words that he spoke of earlier while I kept my attention on the Marilyn Monroe wannabe as she gave the kid a quick nod...only to mouth a 'come hither' afterwards that I honest to God couldn't stop myself from snorting at, "Dudes, they...you know, need chicks like that, right?"

"Hey, Bella?" Meeting his eyes, I arched a brow at their narrowed state of being, a bit confused by the theatrical smile that accompanied them, "No offense but, fuck off."

"Oh," I laughed at the idiot who just dug his own grave by dismissing my company, for the excuse to deny hers now...it wasn't there, "No worries, kid. I'll gladly fuck off."

"No," he whispered as I stepped away, "I take it back, don't fucking leave me alone."

Shaking my head, I dodged the long fingers that were trying to grab a hold of my arm. "You got that, Edward," I told him, looking over my shoulder with a huge smile as I headed over towards the hallway, "Go and have fun with...whatever...that is. Looks like a good fucking time...one that I'd rather shoot my face off than witness."

After all, who the fuck do I look like, Edward Cullen's goddamn wingman?

Give me a break, dude...we weren't that close.

Plus, it's not like he didn't know the broad, he's been seen with her before.

I mean, she wasn't some random bitch, sucker punching the kid's balls...

Which, you know, would've sucked big time.

So much so, that yeah, I guess that I'd maybe retaliate by kicking her ass.

And, keep in mind that I said maybe, because knowing the cocky bastard?

I guarantee shit.

Leaning against the kitchen door while Emily talked my fucking ear off about shit that I wasn't even listening to, I nodded...or kept on nodding, hoping that homegirl wouldn't notice my distraction as thoughts of my brother's possible whereabouts dominated my mind because honestly? The kid's been gone for the past fucking hour.

To say that his 'disappearance' was starting to worry me was an understatement.

"Seriously, lady?"

I nodded, or...never stopped, sensing a pause in the convo that I wasn't a part of.

"Ayo!" Emily yelled, snapping her fingers in my face, "I'm talking to you, bitch!"

Smacking her hand away, I narrowed my eyes at her little ghetto ass. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I just...I have a lot on my mind right now and here you are, yapping away like talking nonstop's what's in these days. I mean, give it a break, Emi...fuck."

"I'll show you something that I could br—"

Covering her mouth as soon as Em walked into the apartment, I interrupted her idle threat...only to start squeezing the fat out of her lips when I saw him heading over towards Blue Eyes, who was standing next to Andy...laughing about who the fuck knows what. "Bewah Swahn!"

"Shit, my bad," I grimaced, letting my palm drop from Emily's trap as I kept my attention on my brother, who was now shaking Andy's hand, "What the fuck?"

"What's what the fuck?"

Meeting her raised eyebrow, I shook my head. "Nothing's what the fuck."

"Well something's what the fuck because you just said what the fuck a second ago."

"You must be hearing shit again, bitch...I spoke of no what the fuck whatsoever."

"Calling me a bitch, you obviously...wanna take this to the street, don't cha—"

"— wish your girlfriend was hot like me," I continued, grinning at the roll of the eyes that my change of subject created, "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me, don't chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...don't cha, baby...don't chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—"

"Honey B, where the hellllllll have you beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen?"

I snorted when I saw Rose stumbling over towards us, wearing a pair of heels that had me thinking that she was insane for rocking them in the condition that she was in. Noticing the squint that my girl's right eye had going on, I nudged Emily's shoulder, "Looks like it's going to be that type of a night," I told her after I pointed at the sign that let us know that Ms. Hale was beyond loaded right now, "I had her nonstop partying ass in bed a literal minute before sunrise last time. It's your tur—"

"Oh hell the fuck no," she whispered, grimacing at the barely covered blue iris that neared, "I'll uh, take a raincheck? Okay-thanks-bye!" she shouted, before running off.

Bitch.

"I've been...I've been looking all ooooooooooovvver for you, Beeeeeeee!" Rose slurred when she reached me, looking at the kitchen door that my back was still leaning against, "I like, miss you so muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch! Love you tooo muuuuuuch."

"Rose."

Reaching out, she ran her hand down the wood that was next to my ear. "Bella."

"I'm right here, hookah…not there," I let her know, turning her face to the side so that she was looking at me instead of the 'person' that she thought that she was having a conversation with, "What you were talking to and feeling up a second ago? The kitchen door."

Leaning away from me, her nose scrunched up in some disgusted type of a way that I raised an eyebrow at. "What?" I asked, cupping one of my hands over my mouth before exhaling, thinking that my breath stunk or something, "Do I need a tic tac?"

With narrowed eyes that had her looking like she was seconds away from passing out, she took a hold of my chin and pulled my face towards hers...only to pry my lips apart from each other and sniff my tongue afterwards...like the closeted-freak that she was. "Is...is that whiskey that I'm smelling?" she asked, trying to sound all menacing and whatnot...

Which was nothing but hypocritical, because the broad herself was half lit off of her own ass. Snapping my teeth at her, I pushed her hand away from my mouth. "So what, I drank a little whiskey. Sue me for trying to celebrate my goddamn birthday."

"Touché," she replied, before she started giggling...uncontrollably, like a maniac...

Acting like what she just said, was the funniest shit ever. "Dude," I laughed.

"There you are, you sexy beast!" I heard Pixie hiss in a tone that was a bit too...

Overheated.

My eyes, they found her at once and when I saw the dust charging towards me like some kind of a goddamn horse on amphetamines, I saved Rose from the force that I was about to be met with by pushing her aside. Pressing my back against the door, I held my breath while I waited for the storm that was a coming, nervous like no other.

"Where...have...you...been, Bella Boo?" Alice asked me, abruptly stopping her body from colliding with my own as soon as she reached my frightened ass. Grabbing a hold of my cheeks, she squeezed them together. "This party, it's supposed to be all about you."

"I've bween...uwh...hwere..." my kissy faced self informed her.

"Oh," she simply shrugged like whatever, that's cool...before she used the palms that were still over my cheeks to tilt my head to the side...only to then slam her lips against my own...which quickly, and I mean quickly...escalated into her ravaging the shit out of my fucking mouth.

...

So, I uh...

...

I guess that's how she felt, at the time?

After biting the lip out of my top one, she slowly let it go by dragging her teeth away from it until her mouth left mine, smirking at my frozen being afterwards as she ran her fingers through my hair in some rough as all fuck manner that had me cringing like holy hell, bitches...I'm dealing with a goddamn wild cat here!

"Thanks for that, lovah," the horny animal hummed, winking at me? as I ran the back of my hand across my mouth to check for any kind of blood loss, "That was nice. Reeeeeealllllll nice. Let's do it again some time soon...until then, catch me on the flip side."

And then she walked off, after Rose slapped her back, thinking that it was her ass.

"That...that was fucking beautiful," J whispered in awe from his spot on the couch.

Looking over at Blue Eyes, I laughed something quiet as I placed my arms across my chest because no lie, the kid's facial expression? It was filled with shock, while he leaned against the wall that was practically supporting his dazed ass.

Blatantly staring at the Pixie, Emmett's jaw? Reached the floor and stayed there.

Sam, he hid his 'attraction' well by appearing nonchalant whereas Emily, she had no problem in complaining...telling her man that he always got the good ones before she ever had the chance to, and that he should fire Alice so that she could hire her...

Like the little show that Pix put on was appropriate diner etiquette.

While I was nursing the beer that J handed me a couple of minutes ago, my eyes found Andy's form when it started heading over towards my brother. Glancing in my direction, the asshole gave me a sly little grin that no lie, had my fingers tightening around the bottle that I wanted to smash over his goddamn head.

Alright, Bella...I told myself, you need to chill out and stop overreacting cause Andy, he's smarter than that. He knows better than to tell my brother about our friendship.

Cause if he didn't, I'd have no problem whatsoever in throwing it the fuck away.

But did my try to calm my nerves down some work?

Nope, not at all...cause when I saw him whispering into Emmett's ear as he led him through the living room with one of his arms over his shoulder, I brought the bottle up to my mouth to chug the rest of my beer, for shit was about to pop the fuck off, man.

"You need to chill out."

Grimacing at the taste of piss that I always seemed to associate with the beverage that I just drank, I narrowed my eyes at Sex Hair's all of a sudden appearance, leaning forward a bit to place my empty bottle on top of the table before snatching up his full one. "I am chilled out, Edward."

"Clearly," he replied with a roll of his eyes, stealing back the alcohol that I silently offered to finish for him. Taking a seat next to me, the kid stopped my leg from bouncing around like a goddamn jack hammer by placing his free hand over my knee. "Relax, Bella. You're freaking out over nothing."

"I don't understand what's going on, though...I mean, why are they wasting their time in the bathroom when the party's out here? Honestly, what can they possibly be doing in there? It's been like...five fucking minutes, man..." Looking over at him as I took a second to breath, I started chewing on my lip like mad. "Granted, if I thought that my brother was into dudes then I'd be like...oh, alright, whatever, get it...but I know that he's not. Dick, it isn't for him and Andy, he's as straight as a goddamn ruler...at least, I always felt as if he was...wait, he's as straight as a goddamn ruler, right?"

Pulling my lip from my teeth's grip with his thumb, he shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, I'm about to go and find out, fuck sitting here, waiting around like a dumb-ass for two grown ass men who might or might not be gay." He grabbed a hold of my arm after I stood up but let go as soon as I gave him the look, "That's what I thought."

After giving the solid surface a single knock, I raised a brow at the curse words that I heard on the other side of the bathroom door. "Wait up," Em's voice soon followed, the sound of glass hitting the floor making me take a step back, "I'll uh...I'll be out there in a minute, hold on."

"Emmett, it's me," I let him know, giving the door a few more taps, "Open up."

"Give me a minute," he told me, "I'll meet you out in the living room, alright?"

"Sure thing," I laughed, placing my arms across my chest...

Four fucking Minutes Later

Lifting my head at the sound of the door being pulled open, my attention landed on Em when he looked over his shoulder as he laughed at something that was said by Andy, who was following him while he walked out of the bathroom. Noticing my presence as I pushed myself away from the fucking wall that's been supporting my back for the last 'minute,' my brother's steps...they froze. "Bella," he whispered, scratching the back of his neck with nerves that I instantly picked up on, "What uh...what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to — "

"What, you actually thought that I'd listen to you when you told me to lea—"

My voice, it died out as soon as I noticed his fingers when they started pulling on his sleeves to lower them over his forearms...his fingers that contained nothing but familiar jitters that I've bared witness to before whenever I dealt with the asshole who was still standing behind him. "B, don't be mad at me," Emmett said, meeting my eyes and making my own widen in return when I saw the pinpoint pupils that I didn't catch a second ago, "I didn't mean to keep you waiti—"

Turning my attention over to his new 'buddy,' I interrupted Em's bullshit. "Andy, is it?" I asked, not waiting for any kind of a response as I continued, "I'm going to need a minute with the kid who's dick you've been stuck on ever since you got here. There's plenty of other ones that can keep you company out in the living room if that's the type of thing that you're into so, why don't you do me a solid by giving me what I'm not asking you for."

Shaking his head at the glare that I was sporting...the one that was directed at him and not at the douche-bag who took my silent warning to heart by walking away from the total shit storm that was about to go down...Em opened his mouth to tell me something. "Not at all, Emmett. Don't you even fucking try."

Closing his mouth, he lowered his head before he placed his arms across his chest.

"Please tell me that what I'm seeing right now isn't really happening," I demanded.

Nothing.

"Tell me, let me know that I'm losing my fucking mind right now," I gritted, my eyes burning with unshed tears that - for the first time ever - he caused, "Tell me that I'm insane for even thinking that you could do something like that to me, Emmett..."

He shook his head, keeping it lowered. "It isn't what you think."

"Then what is it?" I asked, walking over to him, "Because judging from what's so blatantly obvious," I flicked his eyebrows before I grabbed a hold of his covered arm, "You've been in that bathroom for the last ten goddamn minutes, shooting up!"

"Keep your voice down," he groaned, pulling his arm away from the death grip that I had on it as he looked down the hallway, "God, Bella, just...chill the hell out for a —"

"You fucking disgust me."

"Hold up," he whispered quickly, grabbing a hold of my arm when I went to walk away from whatever he got himself involved with, "I...this week, it hit me hard, real fucking hard and before you say anything, I know that that's not an excuse but, I just wanted...no, needed...to forget about everything for a single goddamn second, you know?"

I looked at him for a minute before I started laughing a laugh that told him that I didn't find anything about this whole thing funny. "Wait, are you trying to tell me that you had a shitty week, Emmett? Cause, I mean, if that's the case then my bad, dude! If you would've told me that the days hit you hard, I would've understood! Or, you know what? Maybe I wouldn't of. After all, you're the only one whose ass stress is kicking so, please, go, knock yourself out by shooting the fuck up to ease your goddamn troubles, man! Do what you gotta do, you fucking addict, no one's judging you!"

"B, come on, don't be like th—" he hissed as I kicked his fucking knee cap, hard...

But not hard enough, because the pain that he was now putting me though?

It didn't compare, as I walked away from what he did to me. "Go to hell, Emmett."

"Whoa," I heard, before the bottle that I was holding over my mouth left my mouth.

Snapping my eyes open, I narrowed them at the kid who stole the liquor that I was a second away from chugging the shit out of. "Edward, now is not the fucking time," I whispered slowly, "Give me back my motherfucking whiskey before I make you cry..."

Ignoring my threat, the prick headed over towards the counter and when he started opening up random cabinets, I ground my teeth together, more than ready to throw the fuck down. "Uh, hello?" I growled, walking over to where he was standing, "Did you not just hear m—"

"Of course I heard you," he interrupted as he continued with his search...only to raise an eyebrow at me when I stepped up to the counter to block him from moving along its path, "What's up?"

"Give me b—"

Lifting me up into the air, he placed me on top of the counter, thinking that I'd quit harassing him...which was pretty goddamn stupid on his part. "Oh, Edward?"

He paused in front of the sink to just look at me. "What's uh, wrong with your eyes?"

Ignoring that, I continued with the over-the-top fluttering of the lashes that I picked up on, "Can you please...pretty please...with a cherry on top, give...me...back...my...god damn bottle!"

"Really, though?" he asked, looking down at his hip after I kicked it, "All of that?" Shaking his head, he stopped me from replying with the obvious duh as soon as he saw me opening my mouth to do so, "Since this is your brother's apartment, I'm assuming that you know where he keeps the mugs, yeah?"

"Mugs?" I laughed, "Who the fuck needs those when the bottle's perfectly fine?"

He just stared at me, waiting for an answer that I sure as hell wasn't giving up.

"God, you're so..." I shook my head at the rich boy, "You're so inconsiderate, Edward."

"Oh?" he asked, looking all kinds of offended and whatnot, "How so, Bella?"

"How so?" I laughed before I asked him "How not? I mean, honestly, don't you know anything about limiting the use of materialistic bullshit that's unnecessary for survival...especially now, when we're all forced to live in the shitty ass economy that we're all living in? Think about all of the soap and water that you're going to waste by cleaning mugs that don't need to be used afterwards..."

The staring commenced, while he stood there looking all 'money's just paper' like.

Giving the whiskey bottle that he placed in the sink earlier a quick glance, I reached over to snatch it up...only to lose my balance a second later, which was quite typical for me, Bella Swan, the chick whose reflexes were too spazmatic for her own good...

Saving my ass from tipping over as soon as he noticed my dilemma, Edward grabbed a hold of my arm before he used his free hand to open the cabinet that my head was previously hiding. "Got it."

"Got it," I mocked, yanking my arm back as I straightened myself out, "Bitch."

Smirking something that was nothing but suspicious with its low key nature, he placed himself in front of me, keeping his eyes on mine as he tapped my thighs with the two mugs that he thought that he so cleverly found. "Let me in."

"Excuse me?"

Leaving one of the mugs on the counter, he leaned against my knees as he reached over to grab the bottle that I could've already fucking finished by now. "If you're planning on drinking the rest of this bottle," he started, holding what was originally mine away from my try to steal it back, "I might as well get comfortable, don't you think?"

Unable to deny his sexy ass anything at this point, I rolled my eyes before I spread my legs apart so that he could stand in between them. "You just want to monitor my alcohol intake, you dick."

"Yeah," he grinned, his attention on the whiskey as he filled our mugs, "Maybe."

"What the...what the fuck is this going to do?" I asked as soon as I saw what the cheap bastard limited me to, which was an alcohol amount that was clearly missing its other half a cup, "By the time that this reaches the back of my throat, it'll be absorbed!"

Taking the other mug, the amateur raised it up and waited for a toast. "Yeah?"

"No," I answered at once before I downed my drink in a single gulp. Handing it back to him, I shook my head, holding my hand out for what he obviously didn't know how to control. "Save yourself the hassle of having to refill it every two seconds by just giving me the bottle, Edward."

"You know," he started after finishing his drink, "You're kind of insane." Grinning at the roll of the eyes that his words earned, the kid kept his attention of me while he refilled our mugs, "Fuck kind of. You're for sure insane."

"Thanks," I gave him, ending my declaration with a growl as he once again dodged my try to grab the goddamn bottle, "Jesus Christ, man, just...give it back to me, shit!"

"What happened?" he asked, handing me the same amount of whiskey...

That was gone within a goddamn second. "Nothing fucking happened."

Looking down at the empty mug that I was holding, he laughed. "Take it easy."

"Refill me," I told the kid, to hell with taking it easy.

"I think that you might need to take a break, yeah?"

"No."

"I'm only trying to look out for you, Bella." I narrowed my eyes at the sly little grin that I caught, the one that lasted less than a second before it was replaced by nonchalance. "If you keep throwing that whiskey back like the pro that you've proved yourself to be tonight, I'm afraid that you'll make it too easy for me later on."

"I'm not following."

"You know, later on, when I try to take advantage of your sweet ass."

"Edward got jokes."

He rolled his eyes at the dry tone of my voice before he exhaled, "Alright, listen. I know that we don't know each other that well, and that we barely get along for the most part, but...I'm trying to just...I don't know...feel you out, I guess? Not…not in that way, of course, I mean...this isn't me trying to hit on you or whatever, but…fuck. Okay, look. You're a cool chick. One that I can picture myself hanging out with or shooting the shit with, or...you? You're like one of the guys, you know?"

I pursed my lips together, cause Edward Cullen was acting hella cute right now.

"Shit," he mumbled underneath his breath, running his fingers through his hair as he headed over towards the fridge, "I'm being retarded right now, talking out of my ass..." Turning around in some abrupt as all hell type of a way, he interrupted my snort from erupting with a raised eyebrow. "Broad's, they don't...they feel a certain type of a way when a dude tells them that they're like one of the guys, right?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "I mean...I'm a broad, but...not really?"

"See, that's why I fucking like you," he said before he quickly added, "As a friend."

"Edward?"

"Huh?"

"You're starting to freak me out a little bit."

He laughed a little, pulling the fridge door open, "I know."

"And guess what?"

"What?"

"You're a cool dude, too. No need to sell me on being your friend."

"I'm not..." pausing, he shook his head, pulling out a bottle of vodka and a can of sprite before closing the fridge, "I'm not trying to," he finished as he faced me, "It's just that...it's your birthday, right? People, whether they enjoy the occasion or not, they...to me, at least...have a right to enjoy it, and...I can tell that you're not, that something's got you down, which...it just, as stupid as it sounds...it just kind of bothers me, alright?"

"I'm sorry th—"

"You're not hearing me out, Bella," he interrupted me, "What I'm trying to tell you is that, if you need to vent, or whatever...I'm here to fucking listen. Maybe, I don't know, you'll feel better after you get that shit off of your chest...redirect it elsewhere so that you can just enjoy the rest of your night."

"Yeah, I get it, Edward...and I appreciate the offer, but — "

"All that I'm saying is, if you need an outlet," he tried once more, "You got me."

"Tell me about you and Andy," I started, thinking fuck it, he asked for the shit.

Kid tensed up a bit, not expecting that. "What about me and Andy?" he asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged, "I'm just confused, I guess...wondering how close the two of you actually are. Like I told Jasper, I never saw him hanging out with Andy before but there he was at Andy's spot, talking to him like he knew the kid from back in the day. I'm getting that same vibe off of you too but, it's weird that I never met you as Andy's friend, what with the asshole being a close one of mine."

"Andy's not my friend."

"Doesn't seem like that."

"Yeah, well..." he shrugged at my observation, heading over towards me as I placed my arms across my chest. "That 'asshole buddy of yours,' he's nothing but someone that I just know of, Bella. If I told you that he and I were friends, I'd be bullshitting you. Acquaintances, fine but...more than that's pushing it."

"Why are you acquaintances to begin with?" I asked when he reached me, "I mean, tell me if I'm wrong here but, from what I can see at least, you don't seem like the type to just...hang out with people like Andy for shits and giggles."

Paying my statement no mind, the kid started pouring vodka into the mug.

"Dude, you're wasting your time," I said, stopping him when he tried to mix the alcohol with sprite, "Just give me more of the clear stuff that tastes like nail polish remover."

"You're going to get sick, you know that, right?"

"I must look like I give a single shit."

He shook his head as he filled the rest of my mug with what I wanted him to fill it with, handing it over to me afterwards before placing his own in the sink. "Don't get pissed off at me later on when I tell you that I told you so," he started, forgetting about the fucking sprite as he grabbed a hold of the bottle and brought it up to his mouth, "Cause I'm pretty sure that you'll give more than a single shit when you're kissing the bowl that your brother's ass sits on whenever he has to drop a deuce."

"So?" I asked, wanting to get back to the subject that he was purposely avoiding.

"So?" he repeated after taking a swig of the liquor that smelled like death, "Listen, don't give me that look," he told my narrowed eyes, "That stereotypical bullshit that you pointed out a second ago, about how I don't seem like Andy's 'type of people,' it goes both ways, Bella. I might be wrong but, as far as I can tell, I don't see you as someone who fits into that sort of crowd either, yet here you are, telling me that Andy's a close friend of yours..."

"We're not talking about me, you prick," I argued, "I asked you a simple question, don't go turning the goddamn tables around, talking about as far as I can tell..." I mocked him. "What's the big deal with letting me know how you're involved with Andy, I mean...you're acting as if you two are fucking on the side or something..."

"It's just business."

"Business?"

He shrugged, turning around to lean against the counter, next to me. "Whether I like it or not, I have to deal with the kid because he works under my Pop sometimes, does simple shit here and there that he doesn't have the time for, what with him treating patients 24/7."

"Your Pop's a doctor?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the side of his face.

Edward nodded, taking another sip out of his bottle.

"I'm confused," I whispered, "What kind of shit does he have Andy do?"

"Who the fuck knows," he answered, and I had a feeling that he most definitely knew, for he changed the subject as soon as the last word left his goddamn mouth, "You never told me about what happened out there to make you want to drink your own body weight all of a sudden."

"What kind of shit does a doctor have a kid with no job experience do, Edward?"

He shook his head, looking away from me.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, "Just like that?"

Saying nothing in return, he stayed silent.

"What a bunch of horse shit," was the response that his avoidance received as I jumped off of the counter, "Andy probably doesn't even know how to spell the word job and all of a sudden, he's working under some doctor, doing what?"

"Bella..."

"Fuck off," I gave his 'Bella,' adding a middle finger in the mix before walking off, not at all interested in whatever he was trying to feed me as he pushed himself away from the counter, "Andy Hardy working under a goddamn doctor, get the hell out of here, man..."

"Bella, I'm...shit," he cursed before "Remember me asking you about your story?"

I stopped. "Yeah, so, what about it?" I asked, not looking back.

"Well this involves mine, and I'm not ready to read it out loud yet."

Looking over my shoulder, I met his eyes that were now giving me their undivided attention. "Alright," I gave him after a few seconds, not wanting to force the kid into talking about something that he obviously didn't want to talk about, knowing that I'd expect the same returned, "I get where you're coming from, so...I'll let it go. Bullshit aside, I didn't mean to...butt in, or whatever. My bad, yeah?"

"No, Bella, you didn't..." shaking his head, he took a seat before meeting my gaze again, "It's just...I can't help but to feel weird when people invade my space like that, and especially if it's someone who I just started talking to..."

Waving one of my hands up into the air, I stopped him from going on as I headed over towards the table. "You don't need to explain yourself to me, Edward, I get it," I told him, sitting down next to him before grabbing a hold of the bottle that he was getting ready to drink out of, "I was just apologizing for trying to get involved in your business like that...it was uncalled for, me acting like you had to tell me what's up...after all, it's not like I'm a chick who owns your dick, you know?"

As soon as he went to say something, I lifted the shit that I stole up to my mouth to take a long swig of the alcohol that I definitely fucking hated...so much so, that right afterwards, I gagged something that had me thinking that Edward Cullen poisoned me by replacing the bottle with Clorox. "Jesus Christ, Bella," I heard him laugh as I started investigating the 'container' that I was holding, "That shit's going to hit you like crazy..."

Looking up, I narrowed my eyes at his smirk. "Honestly, how do you drink this?"

"Honestly?" Grabbing the bottle out of my hand, he finished it off. "Like that..."

"You're nothing but a greedy ass motherfucker," I told him before I stood up from my spot...only to gasp a sound that got stuck in my throat a second later as I took a hold of the edge of the table and begged it to keep me from falling over, "Holy shit," I thought out-loud because maybe Edward was right about telling me to slow down on the alcohol intake, "I'm in trouble..."

"You okay?"

Looking down, I raised an eyebrow at the hand that found my left hip before I lifted my gaze up to the kid's face...or, at least...where I thought that his face was. "Like, whoa, superman. How'd you get here so fast?"

He grinned.

Facing him, I shook my head, grabbing onto his cheeks so that I could keep him the fuck still for a goddamn second. "Bae," he laughed a laugh that was a little too loud for my all of a sudden drunk ass, holding my waist now, "It's you who's all over the place, not me..."

I nodded, simply because I wasn't trying to bet against Edward Cullen ever again.

Lifting my chin up, he raised an eyebrow at me. "Let's get you home, yeah?"

Needing the support, I laid one of my arms over his shoulders, using him to hold me up. "Edward, wait..." I said, stopping my personal superhero from taking a step towards the kitchen door, "My chucks and my hoodie, I need them, where are they?"

One side of his mouth raised higher than the other, which only freaked me out...

"No, dude, don't—don't smirk, I'm not playing around here!" I shouted, earning myself a grimace as he leaned away a bit to save his hearing, "You...you have to find them, this...no lie, this is a life or death situation that we have on our hands!"

"Okaaaaayyyy," he whispered slowly, grabbing a hold of my hand…the one that was hanging off of his shoulder. Bending his knees, he slowly lowered us down to the floor, "I'm leaving you here, where you're going to stay put, while I go out into the living room and look for your shit, yeah?"

"Yeah, you do that, buster," I mumbled, giving his mouth a couple of light smacks before pulling his face back down to mine after he started to stand up again, "Don't be ashamed to do what you have to do, Edward. Meaning, don't feel a certain type of a way if you, by any chance, have no other choice but to kill whoever you need to in order to find my shit."

The kid bit onto his lip a bit to contain his laughter. "While that advice of yours sounds excellent, Bella, going to jail for murdering a motherfucker doesn't, especially if it's over a pair of chucks and a hoodie."

"Don't you underestimate their importance to me, Edward Cullen," I whispered into his face, what with it being that close to my own, "Those petty things and I, we go way back."

He grinned, leaning back some to look at me. "Alright. I get it."

"As long as you do," I replied, weeblin' and wobblin' a little bit.

"I'll be back," he informed me, standing up, "Just, don't move."

I rolled my eyes cause hello, didn't he just witness my inability to do such things?

Laying back after he walked out of the kitchen, I gasped when I looked at the clock that was placed on the wall, for it was right then and there that I noticed that it was two hundred and ten o'clock! Christ, I thought, bringing my hands up to my face so that I could count the hours that passed by, I must be fucking ancient by now!

"Are you uh, alright, Bella?"

I hissed a "Shhhhhhh!" to whoever was trying to break my goddamn concentration, keeping my eyes on my fingers as I started all over again, the whole time wondering how the world's not fucking over, what with it being the time that it was.

Person interrupt-o, he or she leaned over me, placing one of each of their million legs on each side of my million hips as I continued to count the endless hours by using my fingers...my fingers, mind you...that were quickly running out. "Brown Eyes?"

Seeing ten grinning mouths above me, I raised an eyebrow. "Jasper?"

He nodded, the action making me kind of dizzy. "The one and only." Grabbing a hold of my chin, Blue Eyes stopped my face from following his own's up and down movements, "You're fucking wrecked, yeah?"

I snorted, wrapping my fingers around his wrist. "Oh you don't even know, lol."

Yep, definitely said 'lol,' instead of just...laughing out loud.

Alcohol, it can be a vicious thing, as you can tell.

Especially when a whole bunch of it is consumed within a short amount of time.

Bending his knees a bit, Jasper interrupted my internal monologue by treating my body as if it were a fucking toilet or something while he squatted over it, asking me "You don't mind if I keep you company in here for a little bit, do you? Cause, you see, my lady...she left for the night and Edward's busy looking for something, told me that he was on a mission of some sort..."

"Oh God!" I shouted, all of a sudden feeling as if I could cry as I tightened my fingers around the kid's hand, ignoring the cringe of pain that my grip painted across his face, "I...I hope that he finds my shit! Fuck hope, he better find my shit cause if not..."

Grinning at the menacing laugh that escaped my being, Jasper unwrapped my digits from their con-fu grip state of being. "Cullen'll find your shit, crazy girl. No worries."

And, I honest to Christ believed him, at that very precious moment of realization.

I mean, why would I want to waste my life by not believing him...

When time itself passes by us so motherfucking quickly, right?

"Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely wooorld, she took the midnight traaain goin' aannnyyywhere!" I started singing, so goddamn beautifully that I made myself jealous...

"Just a city boy," Blue Eyes picked right up, minus the excellent singing, "Born and raised in Soooouth Detroooooit, he took the midnight train goin' annnnnyyywher—"

"Yeah, Whitlock?"

Looking over at Edward, I snorted at the wide as all hell smile that he was wearing as he leaned against the frame of the door with his arms across his chest. "That's how you're feeling right about now?" he asked him, "Cause, I mean...damn."

"Fuck off, Cullen."

"No, I'm just saying, Mr. Steven Perry," Edward continued, "Please, go the fuck on, man. Don't stop believin' on my behalf. After all, I wouldn't want you to miss that midnight train goin' annnyyywheeeere..."

Jasper brushed off his embarrassment by leaning down a bit to place a kiss over my forehead. "That kid's always been jealous of me," he informed my grin, making it widen as he pushed himself up to his feet, "He's got nothing on my skills, Brown Eyes, don't let him convince you otherwise."

"Singing off pitch is one of your skills, though?" I asked, making him look over his shoulder when he reached his buddy, "Cause, I mean...no offense, dude, but...holy shit on you not being able to carry a fucking tune..."

He rolled his eyes at my teasing, only to roll them again when they met the pursed together lips that his buddy was sporting from said teasing. "I'd tell her to fuck off but, she's a lady, so...fuck off, Cullen...on her behalf."

He laughed, holding his hands up by his shoulders. "Consider me fucked off."

"You got her?"

"No worries," he said, patting Jasper's back, "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Blue Eyes nodded before he gave me a wink that I casually returned...only, it might have looked as if I had bubble gum taped to my cornea instead...judging from the matching raised brows that I got from the both of them afterwards.

What...the fuck...everrrrrr.

Lowering himself down to my level after we were left alone, Edward held out one of his hands. "Awe hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" I smiled, grabbing a hold of my possessions, "I knew that you'd find my shit!" I lied, "Excellent job, dude!"

"Thanks, dude," the kid replied, grinning at my excitement, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, that sound's pretty good, get me up," I said, pointing out that "It has to be close to two hundred and thirty o'clock, up in this joint. I need to go to sleep...asap."

"Bella..." He paused for a second or two, before "It's two thirty...in the morning."

"Oh."

"Yeah," he whispered, laughing something that I barely heard as he gently pulled on my elbow to sit me up, "I'm going to take you home." Tossing one of my arms over his shoulder, he placed the two that were attached to his own body underneath my back and knees, "You ready?"

"Up, up, and — " I grimaced at the butterflies that his lift provided, "Oh no..."

Looking down at my face after I grabbed a hold of the front of his tee shirt with the hand that wasn't strangling him, he raised an eyebrow. "What happened, you okay?"

"Too fast."

"I got you," he let me know, squeezing my side and knee, "Just relax against me."

With a small smile, I nodded, easing the grip that I had on the poor kid. "Alright."

After letting the kitchen door close behind us, Edward gave all of the Rosies that I saw sitting on all of the couches a single nod. "Rose, I'm going to take this one ho—"

"Honey Beeeeeeessssssssss!"

"Roses!" I shouted in the plural form, cause that's exactly what I saw...plural bitches, "How can anyone even handle all of yous, it's like a...a...a flower party, up in hizerre!"

"Yeah, so..." Edward started heading over towards the front door, "We'll let oursel—"

"No fucking way!" all of my bitches stopped him once again, "Stay, this party's not even close to being over...here," they all tried to push themselves up from all of the couches that they were sitting on but failed, and after numerous attempts, "Get your own selves a drink, let's do it up, do-it, do-it, do it up!"

Edward, losing his grip some as I kicked my legs around in excitement, adjusted me...only to snort a second later when I practically shoved my face into his neck, for its scent captured my attention as soon as I caught a waft of it. "I can just eat...you...up," I let it know, cause mmmmmmmmm - fucking - hmmmmm, true story.

He leaned away from my nose, smiling something lopsided. "You're trashed."

"I see so fucking many of yous, hookahs and gents!" the Roses told the door that Edward was standing next to, "I mean, God, how...how is that even possible, right!?"

"Right!" I snorted, totally agreeing with them all, "I mean, granted, I can't see any of the Honey B's that you're talking about but, there's a whole bunch of Roses that are surrounding this room, joined by crooked smiles and green colored dots that I'm assuming belong to the kid who's supporting me right now, cause you know, the prick's always just smirking that goddamn stupid smirk of his that I can't seem to get away from and looking at me with those eyes of his that would have no problem-o with hiding out in the sea, what with their ability to blend in like the fucking sea-blenders that they are, it's like, do you even know?"

Pretty little eyebrows, scrunched together in confusion. "Yeah, baby girl, I'm way too fucked up to even try to comprehend that motherfucking run on sentence…"

"So true," I nodded before looking at Edward, whose chest against my side vibrated with held back laughter, "Hey, did you know that the color green represents safety?"

"You're getting philosophical on me now?"

"Maybe," I whispered with a grin, for his own looked nothing but...fucking...yum.

"You know what I'm going to do for you, Bae?" he asked, keeping his eyes on mine as he opened the door, telling all of my girls to lock up before pulling it closed behind us, "A favor, by getting you out of here before you let me know about what that stupid smirk of mine represents, the one that you...and I quote, can't seem to get away from…"

Appreciating the kid for saving my ass from further embarrassment, I smiled as he walked away from the apartment complex. "Thanks, man."

"No problem."

"Hey, can you..." I patted the arm that was supporting my knees, "Can you put me down for a second? I gotta hoodie that's mission in life is to keep me warm and a pair of white socks that don't feel like turning black after walking home..."

"You have this amazing way with words, has anyone ever told you that?" he asked, sounding all amused and whatnot as he lowered me down to the ground, keeping his hands over my hips as I swayed to the left a bit, "Aside from that, though...let me just hold you while you do what you gotta do, yeah? Wouldn't want your face to meet the concrete…"

Letting go of the kid, I waved him off, telling him to do what he needed to do as I pulled my hoodie away from the waistband of his jeans, where he placed it in before we left the kitchen. "Come oooooooooon," was the growl that my fabric received after I shoved my head inside of it, "Let...me...out of here," I gritted, frustrated with my all time favorite article of clothing, for it wasn't allowing my dome any kind of an exit...

"Here, Bae," the outsider laughed, letting go of my hips, "Let me help you with it."

Finding his chest, I held onto the tee shirt that was covering it before I felt his fingers on my hoodie, working their magic by adjusting whatever needed to be adjusted. "Oh thank fucking God," I whispered in nothing but relief as soon as my head popped out of the hole that had to of been sewn shut a second ago, giving my savior's smile a smile of my own after he pulled the fabric down my torso, "You're kind of awesome."

"Kind of?" he asked, tugging my hair out of its confinement like a gentleman...

Making me in return lean forward a bit, to place a kiss over his lips.

"Uhm," was the whisper that hit my mouth as soon as it left his own, "What?"

"Relax, man," I grinned, amused by his shocked demeanor. "I don't have cooties."

Snapping out of it, he narrowed his eyes at me, leaning back a bit. "I know that."

"It was just a simple peck, you know," I informed the dude who was all of a sudden behaving as if he was some kind of a prude, or whatever, "I mean, it's not like your dick was inside of my mouth so, stop looking all...weird, acting like I just gave you a blow job..."

He grinned, finally, letting my hair fall from his fingers. "Wow," he whispered after I snatched my chucks out of the back pockets of his jeans, "That analogy of what a peck isn't considered nowadays, it was nice, well thought of. Pretty accurate, if I do say so myself."

I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm that his words were laced with, taking a step back so that I could bend over to put my chucks on...only to find out that that specific action shouldn't of been done by anyone who wasn't completely sober, for as soon as I went to perform said action, I fell forward a bit...and kept on falling forward.

Wanting nothing more than to save my nose from meeting the concrete, I quickly reached out to grab a hold of the first thing that my fingers touched, which ended up being Edward's belt. "Oh," I gasped after I lifted my head and noticed that my face was like, right there...in front of his jun—

"Okaaay, Tiger," Edward laughed tensely, interrupting my thoughts as he grabbed a hold of my wrists to pull me back up to a standing position, "Let me stop you right there...before you turn me the fuck on, or something..."

Grinning some, I bit onto my bottom lip until he ran his thumb across it, making my enamel let it go with a pair of narrowed eyes that I raised a brow at. "What's got you so pissed off all of a sudden?"

"Quit doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Biting your lip."

I snorted. "Why?"

"Cause it tur..." Stopping himself, he shrugged, "No specific reason, just...stop."

"Stop what?" I asked, hiding my smile by giving my lip a single nibble, "That?"

The low growl that wasn't meant to be heard but so was, it had me laughing my fucking ass off...until I yelped, as he - without any goddamn warning - lifted me up into the air. "What the hell, man?" I shouted when he started walking away from where we were standing, "Where are you taking m—"

"Here," he interrupted, placing me on the hood that covered my truck's engine, rolling his eyes at the huff that left me afterwards as I placed my arms across my chest, "Where's your chucks at?"

"I can get them, you kn—"

"Bella, just...return the favor that I gave you earlier by staying put, Jesus Christ."

Grinding my teeth together, I gave their location a nod. "I dropped them, there."

"Great," was the dull response that I got before he walked away to pick them up.

"You're so..." I paused, staring at his back, or his ass...as he bent over, "Irritating..."

"Ditto," he said before he straightened up...making me look elsewhere, at once.

Catching my attention again by pushing my feet away from the bumper that they were comfortably resting on top of, he raised an eyebrow at the glare that his rude ass behavior got, lifting one of his sneakers up to the spot that my socks were kicked off of. "Do you want to die, Edward?"

"C'mon," he said, patting his knee in some let's go type of a way, "Give me a foot."

"I'm perfectly capable of putting on my own shit, you idiot. Hand me my chuc—"

"Now why the hell would I assume that you're incapable of putting on your own shit when you, not even a minute ago, proved just how 'perfectly capable' you were in doing so?" he asked, keeping his eyes on mine as he took it upon himself to grab a hold of my foot, "I mean, I'd be retarded to think that you couldn't handle it," he continued, looking hella sexy with how tense his jaw got as he literally shoved my chuck on, "Especially after witnessing the end result that you accomplished...you know, the one that left your face right in front of my cock?"

I scoffed, letting him dress my other foot. "Oh stop exaggerating, Edward, my face wasn't anywhere near your actual cock...unless, of course...your manhood's looking like a zipper nowadays, which...could very well be true now that I'm thinking about it, what with how goddamn arrogant you are. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised as a matter of fact, if I were to ever find out that you're only trying to make up for smaller things..."

He rolled his eyes, pushing my foot off of his knee. "I got nothing to worry about."

"One can only hope."

The kid, he looked a little heated from my teasing. "I think that we're done here."

"Then shit, let's be done here," I replied, thinking that he was going to lift me off of the hood that he placed me on top of as I leaned forward to wrap my arms around his neck...only to stop short when the kid's lips met my bottom one, giving it an open-mouthed kiss that had me inhaling something shocked as all hell. "Uhm..."

Throwing my stupefied being a smirk that I blatantly stared at, he shrugged. "It was just a simple peck, Bella. Don't act as if I had my zipper-looking dick inside of your mouth, urging you to give me a blow job, or something."

"Touché," I breathed like the hooker that I normally wasn't, grabbing a hold of the kid's tee when he went to move away, for I sooooooo didn't want him to, "Wait up..."

Using those fingers of his that found the empty belt loops of my jeans, he pulled my ass closer to the edge of the truck that he was now leaning against, the forward slide so abrupt in its movement that it had my hands falling down to his biceps to keep my chest from hitting his own. "What am I waiting up for?" he asked me in a whisper that my lips started heading towards, bit by bit, taking their good ol' time...

Only for it to run out as soon as I was right there, for my mouth began watering.

And it wasn't the good kind of watering.

It was the kind where I knew that he had three seconds to move out of my way.

"Oh no," I choked as I opened my eyes, making his own follow suit, "Get away."

"What happened?" he asked, taking a hold of my face, "Did I...did I do somet—"

"Motherfucking move," I spat, unable to hold it in any longer as I interrupted his concern by pushing him away from me. Leaning over to the left, I groaned as soon as that sharp bitter taste hit my tongue. Placing one of my hands over the side of my mouth, I hid whatever was coming out of it from the kid who wasn't standing anywhere nearby, mumbling curse words in between gags that kept on fucking coming while the alcohol that I consumed earlier tonight continued to make its way up my throat.

I must say.

Chuckin' your ever-lovin' guts out?

Awesome.

"No," I whispered as soon as I started hearing Edward's footsteps approaching my hunched over form, "Just stay over there, away from me...you don't need to see this."

"Christ!" his tone mocked disbelief, "Is that...is that puke? I never saw it before..."

Too embarrassed to meet the kid's gaze, I let my chest rest over my lap as I kept my head turned to the side. "God, man, can't you just..." Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, and then another, to try to get rid of the goddamn spins that should've left my system after that fucking disaster, "Go home, or something. You being here right now, it's unnecessary."

"That's you assuming that I have a place to go home to."

Opening my eyes at that, I remained in the same position. "What?"

"Didn't you know?" he asked, sounding closer than before, "I live on the streets."

I frowned a bit, hoping that the words that Edward gave me weren't true because if they were, I'd feel like shit, telling him to go to a home that didn't exist. "You don't live on the streets, you're just...you're just fucking with m—" The feeling of his fingers stopped me, as they brushed away the hair that clung to the damp skin that was over the back of my neck, and when they started rubbing over the muscle there, I groaned. "You're kidding, about the whole homeless thing, right?" I asked him in a whisper.

"Yeah."

"Dick."

"Are you...calling me a dick, or are you telling me to hand over my dick?"

"Your dick wouldn't want to be anywhere near me right now, trust me."

He mumbled something that I didn't hear, before "How's your stomach?"

Taking my time to sit up, I grimaced, "Maybe if I uh, get off of this t—"

Lifting me off of my truck, the kid lowered me down to the ground. Catching the grin that showed up over his features when I gave him a quick glance, I mumbled my thanks, pushing his hands away from my waist so that I could take a seat on the curb.

"You don't need to be embarrassed about what just happened, you know..."

Yeah, cause vomiting's attractive these days. "I'm not embarrassed," I scoffed.

"No?" he asked, before sitting down next to me, "Than why can't you look at me?"

I rolled my eyes...the same ones that were still purposely avoiding his own. "Oh, I don't know, Edward," I gritted, his never-ending persistence starting to irk my nerves, "Maybe it's because I don't feel like throwing up once again from doing so?"

"Yeah, well...aside from all of that, just understand that I'm not the fucking type of dude who'll sit here and tell you that you can't handle your liquor, especially when I would've been right there with you if I chose to drink as much as you drank tonight, so...if thinking that I would do something like that is what's got your thong in a twist, get the fuck over it."

Meeting his eyes, I pursed my lips together. "Bella Swan, she doesn't do thongs."

"No?" he asked, a smile over his mouth. I shook my head. "That's a real shame."

Nudging his shoulder with my own, I changed it up. "But uh, about that thing..."

"What, the kiss that never happened?" I nodded, "The one that you started?"

"What are you talking about, I didn't start shit..."

"But you did," the prick stated, smirking something that I wanted to all of a sudden punch, "I mean, I'm sure that it would've been nice and all but, the temptation to go with the flow that you created...it kind of disappeared as soon as you started throwing up. I mean, the fucking noises that were coming out of your mouth, you know, the one that desperately wanted to get a taste of my own? Hm. Killed the mood."

Unable to hold back, I laughed at the kid's jokes, shaking my head as I lowered it.

"I'm just saying," he whispered next to me, "Don't try to make out with me again."

"You got it, stud," I grinned, rubbing my face some, "But on a serious note, though..." Placing his hand over my lower back to keep me steady as I pushed myself up to my feet, he raised an eyebrow at the nod that I directed towards the end of the street. "I'm feeling a lot better now so, I'm going to head home. It's getting pretty late, you know?"

"Alright," he nodded, standing up from the curb, "Sounds good."

"Dude," I groaned as he just...stayed put, "Don't start with this bullshit again..."

"What bullshit?"

"This 'chick's are vulnerable' bullshit, thinking that I can't walk myself home."

"Bella, you're making a big fucking deal out of absolutely nothing," he argued, "I don't understand why you're acting all uptight when I just want to make sure that you get home alright. Christ, if it makes you feel any better, think of it as you doing me a solid, one that'll ease the worries that I'll end up having if I let you do what you're all about doing, cause God only knows what kind of animals are creeping around this goddamn neighborhood, looking for a late night snack..."

"A late night snack, though?"

The kid shrugged, pursing his lips together as he placed his arms across his chest.

"Well, while I appreciate that offer of yours, you drama queen, I'm good," I told him, "I mean, you might not know this but, as of right now, I'm packin' some serious pork chops down my pants...ones that I can toss at smokey the bear if by any chance smokey the bear's looking for something to nibble on..."

"Bella," he stopped me from walking away by grabbing a hold of my hand, "You're as stubborn as they come and listen, I get that, can see it plain as day...thing is, though...it's not going to stop me from doing what I want to do cause like I told you before, I'm game for going head to head if that's what's up. After all said and done, you can either a) shut the fuck up and let me walk you home by leading the way, or b) keep on arguing with me while you stand here and enjoy my company, which can, mind you, last all night. Either way, whether it's now or in the morning, I'm on you until you're safe and sound within a fucking house of some sort."

Yeah, so...while that sounds nice and all, I can just see Phil's reaction if he were to possibly catch a glimpse of this random ass dude walking me up the porch steps, which is the main reason as to why I couldn't let him do what he wanted to do...

"Edward," I whispered, lifting my hoodie over my head with the hand that he wasn't still holding, "Aside from all of the jokes...you walking me home, it just...it can't happen."

"Why not?"

"Because Phil will for sure flip a shit if he sees you anywhere near the house."

"Phil?"

"He's my step..." Pulling my hand away from his own, I rolled my eyes at myself for even thinking about classifying that asshole as any kind of a fucking father of mine, "Listen, it doesn't matter, Phil's not anyone...important. What I'm trying to say is that, while I appreciate your 'concern' on me getting home alright, you'll only be making shit harder for me in the end."

"Bel—"

"Please, Edward?" I interrupted, "Just this one solid, that's all that I'm asking for..."

"Will the man honestly bitch a fit, or is this you being a pain in my ass right now?"

I smiled, "No, honest to God. He'll literally bitch a fit."

He nodded, looking all sorts of reluctant, "Fine, but..." I narrowed my eyes at the sudden grin that he was sporting as he stepped up to me, "I'm going to give you my number."

"By touching my ass?" I asked…cause his hands, they were definitely on my ass...

Giving it a few pats, the kid shrugged at the raised eyebrow that his palms earned themselves...the raised eyebrow that not even two seconds later reached my forehead when he started squeezing my behind. "I'm only trying to find out which pocket your cell phone's in, Bella...I'm not in any way, shape or form coppin' a feel of the ass that I warned you that I'd be able to take advantage of..."

I rolled my eyes after his investigation was through, which was two minutes later.

Flipping my cell open after bringing it in between us, Edward kept his eyes on mine while he took the time to program his number into my phone. "You better fucking call me as soon as you step into that house that I'm not allowed anywhere near of."

Hearing his cell phone ringing as he used my own to call it, I nodded. "Alright."

"How long will it take for you to get home?" he asked, handing me back my shit.

"Ten minutes, I guess...why?"

He started backing away. "Cause that's how long you'll have to call me."

"Don't tell me how long I'll have to call you," I psssh'd, "You're not m—"

"Hey," he hissed all of a sudden, abruptly stopping his retreat with a glare that I matched, "Don't fucking tempt me into following you home, Bella, because I will..."

Mocking the prick's threat, I turned around to start heading down the street.

"Ten minutes, Bae!" he shouted behind me.

Lifting one of my hands up over my head, I middle fingered his 'ten minutes.'

Finding the normally-occupied-by-an-asshole living room empty after I pushed the front door open, I stopped myself from walking inside when I noticed that the lights were still on, for the bright atmosphere that reminded me of Renee's old ways, it hit me like a ton of fucking bricks, with its eery familiarity...

Knowing that I should be taking advantage of having the freedom that this house used to grant me, I shoved my thoughts to the back of my head, telling myself that the woman who I once admired was different now...hell, man...has been for a while.

After making it into my bedroom, I kept my eyes away from the bed while I got undressed...taking off my hoodie, chucks, and jeans before making my way over to the closet for a pillow and some blankets.

Laying everything out on the small couch that was hardly ever used, I sat down...

Only to jump back up when I heard my cell phone ringing something thunderous.

Lowering my frazzled ass back down to the couch with a roll of my eyes, I leaned over to pick my hoodie up from where I tossed it a minute ago, knowing that I placed my phone in there earlier. Letting the fabric hit the floor once again, I flipped my cell open without giving the caller ID a glance. "Yeah?" I asked...whoever, it was.

Silence.

Yawning, I sat back and closed my eyes to get comfortable. "Uh, yeah? I said..."

Nothing.

Opening my eyes, I grimaced when I looked at the screen. "Oh, shit...Edward?"

"Hmm?"

Noticing the time from looking over at the alarm clock, I cursed my inconsiderate existence, seeing as to how I left Em and Rose's apartment twenty fucking minutes ago. "So, yeah, I'm uh, you know...home, all safe and sound...minus ten minutes ago."

"How'd you know that it was me?" he asked, amusement evident within his voice.

"Oh get real, Cullen." Laying down at the sound of his soft laughter, I grinned as I brought the blanket up over my shoulder, kicking the bottom of it out afterwards so that it could cover my feet, "You're nothing but arrogant, listing yourself as Sex Hair on someone else's phone..."

"You liked that, yeah?"

I rolled my eyes before I closed them. "Oh, I fucking loved it. No doubt."

"Alright," he yawned something contagious, which had me following as I yawned a second later, "Since you're uh, you know...home, all safe and sound...minus ten minutes ago," he mocked my earlier mumble of an explanation, ignoring my huff as he continued, "I'm going to let you go. You should uh, probably try to get some rest anyway, what with how exhausting it must be for you to have to put up with all of the craziness that you consist of…"

"Oh my God, Edward Cullen is like, so funny," I stated in some dull kind of a way.

"Goodnight, Ms. Fix It."

"Ni—"

"Hey," he interrupted, "Bae?"

"Mm?"

"Happy Birthday."

Opening my eyes, I smiled. "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome."

Pat