A/N

I don't own the characters; they just dance around in my head to 80s songs.

Chapter 9 Don't You Want Me

BPOV

MMmmmm. Vanilla. Leather. Hotness. The smell of Edward. . . intoxicating. For a brief second I basked in his warmth and aroma. Then, it hit me. What was I doing? Well, I was hanging on Edward Freaking Cullen like a cheap suit. I had launched myself at him like a scud missile after the most romantic gesture of my almost seventeen years. It was totally perfect-at that moment. I was completely blown away at his efforts. But now, after processing what happened, I don't know why he bothered. Why did he have to pick that song? That was a sure-fire way to melt my heart. But he doesn't even know me. He has this uber-girlfriend and I'm just this ridiculous dork in knee-high Docs.

Seriously, we just met a week ago. I don't get it. He must have felt guilty for asking me out and hooking up with Tanya again. That must be it. Did he lie when he said they had broken up a few days ago? Hell if I know. I'm completely in over my head. My life was suddenly a teen romantic comedy.

Boy, was Tanya going to be pissed if she saw our little Say Anything reenactment. Although, she didn't have a right to, considering that five minutes ago she was swapping spit with some other guy. Geez, I almost forgot about that. I was on my way to tell Edward when he surprised me.

His arms squeezed me tightly to his body, and what a body it was, alerting me that I wasn't daydreaming about him. How many dreams have I had about this boy? Countless. Now I was here and I had no idea what to do. My first thought was to escape. So I did. Chicken.

"Thank you, Edward. That was the most surreal, romantic thing that has ever happened to me. I'm not sure why you did it, but it was really sweet. And you should see what's happening behind the bleachers because your girlfriend is a total skank." I whispered in his ear, then released myself from his heavenly grip and scurried away. I didn't look back. I couldn't.

I went to find James since Alice was pressed so close to Jasper she could have shared his boots. Can guys have F-me boots too? If so, Jasper's were definitely in that category.

I saw James with his "conquest" in a dark corner, so I couldn't bother him either. Is everybody hooked up but me? Damn. It was like being back in Phoenix, all super-loner extraordinaire. Hello, Frizzy Izzy, you're back.

I sat alone on the bleachers like the other wallflowers. I was feeling sorry for myself listening to the end of my song, when Mike came to sit with me. He was such a sweetheart.

"Bella, do you want to dance some more? It looks like your friends are sort of busy. You know I always have time for you." Could he be more perfect? Honestly, yeah, he could be Edward.

"You know, that's exactly what I need. Let's dance, Mike." We danced for a few songs with his freshman and sophomore friends who kept giving Mike thumbs up and high fives. It was kind of cute, like he was the king of the geeks. I felt really comfortable with them because until two and a half months ago, I was one of them. In fact, I felt more at ease with them than I did with anyone other than Alice or Angela. It was safe and comfortable, better than the confusion and heartache of my current non-existent love life.

I shut out all of the other sights and sounds around me, and focused on Mike and his friends doing some really atrocious moonwalks. I resisted the urge to gawk at Edward for once, thank god, because I don't think I could handle seeing him. I made a total fool out of myself earlier, and I did not need a repeat of that performance. I practically did the Baby/Patrick Swayze lift from Dirty Dancing with him. God, it gets more humiliating every time I think about it.

Mike excused himself to go to the bathroom and I decided to get a drink. I couldn't help but notice Edward standing by himself, staring at me with a strange expression. He looked hurt and baffled. Christ, listen to the song that was playing. Fucking Madonna.

It's all brand new, I'm crazy for you, you know it's true. . .

I blushed under his gaze and turned away. I looked up into bright blue eyes, red lipstick (smudged), and a scowl.

"What in the name of all that is holy are you doing by yourself when you should be with Edward?" It came out in a whoosh from Alice's rapidly moving mouth. "He just did the most romantic thing ever, and you walk away? Are you high? Did someone spike the punch?"

"Alice, I know it was really sweet, but he was just feeling sorry for asking me out and then getting back with Tanya."

"You are high. Let's get you to Forks General."

"Stop joking, I'm serious. Nothing has changed between Edward and I except now I am totally embarrassed that I jumped on him."

"Bella, Edward is not with Tanya. In fact, I think he can't stand her."

"Alice, I didn't get to tell you, but I saw Tanya making out with someone behind the bleachers. I told Edward about it after the whole song thing. Maybe it wasn't the first time he caught her, and they got into a fight. That's why he asked me out."

"What a skeeze. I knew she was a total 'ho. What the hell does he see in her?" She turned to look at Edward with a frown on her face.

"Yeah, it was pretty graphic. I hope that's not what my first kiss will be like. It was gross and awkward."

"Trust me, kissing is not gross," sighed Alice with a dreamy look on her face. "I didn't realize what I was missing."

"Oh, Alice, I'm so happy for you. Please stop worrying about my sad life, and let's hear about your man."

She giggled. "My man is incredible. Did you see what he was wearing? Mmm. There were so many things right about it I don't know where to start. He's also sweet, funny, interesting, smart, and he likes clothes. Can you believe it?" She gushed all of the attributes of Jasper, and I was so happy for her. But all I could manage was a weak smile.

"C'mon, Bella. You owe me a dance before we go." Alice squealed at the song that came on. Oh shit, they just put on some Depeche Mode. Look out, dance floor.

So we busted out our 80s moves: Roger Rabbit, the Kid 'n Play, the robot, and it was so fun, I forgot about Edward for a bit. Well, kind of. I mean how do you forget that guy? I glanced around and saw two-thirds of the trashy trio dancing nearby. No Tanya. Were she and Edward fighting, or making up? Ug. Gross thought.

"Nice outfit, Alice," called out Jessica. "It's cute that you tried to look like a 'big girl.' "

Alice's face scrunched up as she tried to control her anger. Nothing pissed her off more than people making fun of her size. "Thanks, Jess. Way to camouflage that botched boob job with the corset. They almost look normal," she replied sweetly.

Jessica's eyes bulged with fury. "How'd you get Jasper to pay attention to you? Is he doing charity work tonight?"

Oh hell no. Alice is going to cut a bitch in here. "Just because he hasn't made a deposit in your personal sperm bank, doesn't give you the right to talk." She got really close to Jessica's face when she said it. She looked like she could rip her head off. I think Jessica felt the same way, because she scampered off without a retort.

"Fist bump me, Alice. That was bad ass," I giggled. We got back to dancing. "A Town Called Malice." That's her song.

I turned down Tyler's and Eric's request to dance claiming loyalty to Alice. No way in hell I was dancing with them to "Pour Some Sugar on Me." That would be like an invitation to grope me. There was only one guy who I wanted to do that.

"Thanks, Alice for giving up your time with Jasper to babysit me," I said as I executed a pretty awesome pelvic thrust to "Push It." Thanks mom for dancing with us to all your old tapes during this summer.

"No man is going to get between us. Besides, I'll have forever with Jasper." Alice danced with grace and agility, which was pretty amazing considering the height of her stilettos.

I laughed at Alice's confidence. I wish I knew how I felt, and what I wanted. Just this morning I thought I had a chance with Edward, but now I was completely confused by his mixed signals.

"By the way, what happened to James?" asked Alice.

"Um, he's giving a private show of the "I Want Your Sex" video to some senior, who I thought was totally straight incidentally."

"Ha, that man is hot enough to make anyone gay." We both laughed. I noticed Jessica hanging all over Tyler. Her tongue was shoved in his ear. Classy. "Should we call the ambulance? I think Jessica is having a seizure," Alice joked.

"Nah, she's dancing, Alice," I said sarcastically.

"Dancing and Jessica, not a good idea." We laughed some more.

I realized it was getting late when Angela and Ben came by to say goodnight, then Mike reappeared. Alice went to say goodbye to Jasper.

"Bella, I had a really good time tonight. My friends loved you. They couldn't believe how nice you were to them. Hot girls usually ignore us," Mike said with a smile. Then his smile faltered. "You should know that Edward asked about you."

"What? Shut up. Are you serious? What did he want?" I couldn't believe it.

"He demanded to know what was going on between us. I told him we were friends, but I wanted more. He looked like he was in pain or something. I explained that you were completely into him and no one else. He looked slightly better after that. What's going on Bella? I saw that stunt he pulled earlier. Did he do something to you?"

"No Mike. He was perfectly nice to me. It's just he has unresolved girlfriend issues."

"Are you sure? He asked for advice on how to get together with you."

"Are you screwing with me? What did you tell him? What should I do?" My heart was practically beating out of my chest.

"I'm a gambling man by nature, so I say go for it."

Should I go for it? This is completely crazy, but I think I will.