Chapter Ten: Smile

I was afraid living with the Cullen's would be uncomfortable, seeing as I wasn't a Cullen. The first night at dinner was a bit uncomfortable for me at the start. I didn't know what to do now that I was living there. In the back of my mind, I knew that I was over reacting. The Cullen's had always been accepting of me and had never made me uncomfortable before while I was in there home.

The dinner started off tense and awkward. I didn't know if it was like that for everyone, but it was like that for me. By this point everyone knew what was going on, including Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper. I was sitting in between Edward and Emmett. Edward was sitting quietly while Emmett was yelling.

"Mom! Is the grub ready yet? I'm starving!"

Esme laughed from the kitchen. "Yes Emmett, the "grub" is ready." She said as she walked into the room, Carlisle trailing her. They were both carrying bowls of something that smelled delicious.

I watched as they set the food down on the table carefully, peeking into the bowls once I could see the inside. In one, there was fettuccini alfredo with grilled chicken. In another, there were fresh baked biscuits that looked incredible. In the last, there was a salad with Italian dressing on it. Overall, the meal looked amazing and the smell left my mouth watering.

As soon as the food started being served, casual conversations broke out around the table. Alice and Jasper began discussing what they were going to do after dinner. Emmett was chowing everything down so quickly, so Rosalie was glaring at him while rolling her eyes. Carlisle and Esme were speaking very quietly and it was obvious they didn't want anyone to hear. My stomach turned a little when I realized that it was most likely about me.

I suddenly felt a hand on my knee under the table. I looked over to see Edward staring at me, concerned.

"Relax, Bella. No one here is judging you. Carlisle and Esme are discussing what they want to do for their anniversary coming up next weekend. It's nothing about you." He whispered.

I smiled at him. It's weird how well he seemed to know what I was thinking or what I was stressing about.

He squeezed my knee. "Relax." He said quietly. He then turned back to his meal and began eating again…without removing his hand from my knee.

Right. Like I could relax with his hand on my knee.

I started eating my food carefully, not wanting to look like a pig. All the while, I was acutely aware of Edward's hand on my knee, burning a hole through my jeans. I took a sip of my water and glanced around the table, trying to center myself. It's just the Cullens. I reminded myself. No one was even looking at me as I glanced around the table. Everyone was off in their own little worlds, and that was fine with me. I hated calling attention to myself.

After we finished dinner, Emmett decided it was time that we watch a movie. I smiled at his enthusiasm. He reminded me of a child at times. He was so exuberant.

Everyone walked into the living room, discussing what movie we should watch.

Edward walked right behind me, his hand lightly touching the small of my back. I smiled internally. Even though this day had been…horrible, the Cullen's had been the silver lining, especially Edward. He led me towards the love seat where there was just enough room for two.

Carlisle and Esme said that they had other things to do and slipped out of the room quietly.

"What should we watch?" Emmett asked as he plopped himself down in front of the DVD rack that they had.

"Nothing scary." Alice demanded.

"I second that." I said quickly. I hated scary.

Emmett frowned. "You two are party poopers. Okay then…funny? I'm not watching a chick flick."

"I'm okay with funny." I said.

"We watched a comedy last time, Emmett." Alice whined. "It's either a chick flick or something serious."

Emmett sighed. "Fine, something serious. I don't think I could handle a chick flick tonight."

Emmett started looking through the rack of movies, taking out random ones for us to choose from. "Okay, we have…The Blind Side…Remember the Titans…or…We Are Marshall."

"What with all the football films, Emmett?" Rosalie asked.

"Hey, she wants serious, then it's at least gotta have some sports in it." Emmett said seriously.

After a quick vote, we decided on Remember the Titans. I had always enjoyed this movie, even though I always teared up at points.

I watched as Emmett got up from his spot on the ground and put the DVD in. He grabbed the remote and stood, walking over to the light switch and turned off the lights. I was suddenly very aware of Edward's presence. Esme walked in then with a bowl of popcorn and a few sodas. She seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted. She handed me and Edward a Coke, Alice a Dr. Pepper, Jasper and Emmett a Mountain Dew, and Rosalie a Diet coke.

We all settled in to watch the movie. Jasper and Alice curled up on the floor together while Emmett lay on the couch with Rosalie tucked into his side. Edward and I sat somewhat awkwardly on the love seat with a little space in between us. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye to see that he was also glancing at me. I blushed and looked away quickly while he chuckled.

As the movie started, my mind started going off. Edward had been touching me a lot lately. He always found a way to touch my hand or my knee. Did that mean something? Or was I reading too much into it? Was I getting myself worked up for something that wasn't going to happen?

I realized then that I really did like Edward…a lot more than I was willing to admit. I didn't like to fall for people. I mean, I tried the whole "relationship" thing once before with Jacob, but it was too awkward. We were only friends, and we both knew that. We tried to kiss once, but that ended in us laughing hysterically. We knew it wasn't right.

But with Edward, it felt right. Whenever he touched me, it was like a fire or an electric spark shot through my body. It was so intense that it almost hurt. I couldn't be completely sure if he felt it too. He acted like he did sometimes, but then again he could have just been being kind. He knew the hard time I had been going through so maybe he was just comforting me.

I was well on my way to convincing myself to just forget about it and just be complacent with being his friend when Edward lifted up his arm and, very nonchalant like, put it around my shoulder. I stiffened slightly but didn't move. I didn't even look at him.

He leaned his head towards me slightly. "Is this okay?" He whispered.

I bit my lip and instead of answering, I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed. I felt him relax and pull his arm closer around me. He sighed in contentment, and I felt safe and comforted. Edward always made me feel like that.

As the movie went on, Edward and I didn't move an inch. He held me the whole movie while I snuggled into him, enjoying the warmth and comfort that he provided. I closed my eyes, basking in the way I felt, memorizing it for when the real world came back around and smacked me back into my life.

When the credits started rolling Edward and I noticed that everyone around us was sound asleep or at least dozed. He smiled down at me.

"Tired?" he asked.

I yawned, and he chuckled. "Yes. It's been a very long day."

He gave me a half smile. "Then let's get you up to bed. I think Esme set up the guest room for you."

I sighed. "Okay."

We got up off the couch and, hand in hand, started making our way up the stairs. We didn't say anything as we walked, but it wasn't awkward. Being with his was natural…it was right.

He led me over to my door and smiled down at me. "Here we are. If you need anything during the night, I'm right next door. Feel free to wake me up."

I smiled. "Thank you, Edward. Goodnight."

He smiled at me, but he had a conflicted look in his eye. "Yes, sleep well."

He didn't let my hand go, so we just stood there for a moment staring at each other. I saw his eyes flicker down to my lips and then back up to my eyes.

I stopped breathing.

He licked his lips and then slowly leaned down. I closed my eyes and waited.

When Edward kissed me, it was the most powerful thing I had ever felt. I felt like the entire world narrowed down to the two of us and that was it. We were the only ones who mattered, who existed. It was very tender and sweet and only lasted about five seconds, but it was better than I imagined kissing anyone could be. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.

Edward Cullen was kissing me. Edward Cullen. Wow.

He pulled back after a moment and smiled at me.

"There. Now I can sleep well." He said quietly. I blushed and bit my lip. "Goodnight, Bella." He leaned down again and kissed my forehead. I almost melted.

"Goodnight, Edward." I whispered.

He smiled at me as I opened the door to my new room.

I closed it quietly behind me and walked in, flopping down on the bed. I didn't notice anything about the room. I didn't notice the beautiful sheets that I was laying on, or the incredible artwork the Cullen's had hanging up.

The only thing I noticed is that I was smiling. A real genuine smile.

There ya go guys :) I hope you like this chapter, because I do. I'm trying to figure out where I want to go with this next, so if anyone has any ideas, send me a message! Thanks everyone!